We're Different, You And I
by Phanzuru
Summary: 'Why are they like that? What has he experienced in his life that made him look at anyone… with those eyes? Raphtalia wanted the answer to the question ever since she met the Shield Hero. Cold, and menacing eyes, he had stared at her with such hatred-filled eyes. All that he said... "I will never trust another woman again..." But how far will that saying go for Naofumi? (AU Story)
1. Chapter 1

Motoyasu Kitamura was generally a naive and gullible person. However, even with those traits, that never stopped him from making friends with nearly everyone he meets. Out of all the heroes, he is the friendliest one of them all. Ever since coming to this new world, he loved pretty much everyone and everything. He had a good team, a good and trustworthy partner, and a spear that generally the most overpowered person in this world! At least, that's what he thinks to himself when he sleeps at night.

However, he doesn't like the current Shield Hero: Naofumi. Because of his 'crime', he despised Naofumi with all of his naive and gullible heart. At first, he couldn't believe that the person who only wore a shield as a weapon, would think that he was tough enough to do everything he wanted! Motoyasu eventually believed that he was the worst of humankind.

But after he left the castle with nothing but a shield for protection, he was happy. Happy that the worst of the worst was going to be left out and hopefully be killed by monsters. That was the last time he had seen of Naofumi. Now, it was time for him to speak to the king about the situation that he needed to be solved.

"No, I told you, Hero of the Spear, that I will not allow a demi-human to be roaming around this castle!" The king of Melromarc glares upon Motoyasu begging state. He was on his arms and legs as he pleaded for the king to change his mind over the constant responses that he got from the king. The king acted… unusual. He would get respect and praise from the king for everything that he's done for the kingdom with a smile, but right now, he's staring at him as if he's… Naofumi.

"Please! We can't just leave her out there with no protection! She's a child!" Motoyasu pleaded. He looked down at the brown haired girl who held onto his leg in fear of her own future. If she had no place to go, then where on Earth would she go?

"Spear Hero, I will tell you for the last time, I will not-" Having enough of the king's unusual responses, he stood up, ready to speak his mind.

"If you will not allow her to stay with us, then I shall take my leave." With that said, the king's reaction was… conflicting. He flinched after he said that he would leave, but then, he decided to calm himself from yelling… probably. When he looked at Malty, he could see her biting her nail in aggravation. Motoyasu scratched his head in confusion after she waved at him with a smile when she noticed that he was staring at her.

"Wait! ...Fine, but even so, she will be in YOUR care for the remainder of her days of living. Also, make sure that she is not seen entering the castle. I do not want… problems of any sort to be put upon me." Yes! He agreed to her staying! Now, with his and the soldiers training, he was sure that the little girl was going to be the best of the best!

"Thank you! I'll be sure to raise her well!" With that, he looked back down at the girl with brown hair. Strange, now that he noticed it, the girl had… Tanuki ears? With the shape of the ears that laid on top of her head and the noticeable bushy tail, there's no doubt that she's part Tanuki.

"Hey, what's your name, by the way?" He knelt down to look at her in the face when he asked her this.

"U-um… i-it's… Raphtalia." Motoyasu smiled and pet her head.

"Raphtalia, huh? Okay, for now on, your going to be in good hands. I was lucky enough to find you first. Who knows what could've happened if I hadn't found you just roaming around in the street! There are bad people out there, Raphtalia! People like Naofumi are just bad influences!" She tilted her head in confusion.

"Nao...fumi? Who is… Naofumi?" When she asked him that, his expression changed. It was one of anger.

"He's… the worst of the worst! He almost raped my partner, Malty! How in the hell was he chosen to be the Shield Hero?!" Raphtalia's eyes widened after he finished talking.

"The Shield Hero! The Shield Hero is here?! Can I meet him?!" She seemed hopeful of meeting the Shield Hero.

"Don't say that, Raphtalia! You can't meet him! He… the worst kind of person to meet!"

"Huh? What do you mean? Isn't the Shield Hero supposed to be… good?" He nodded before speaking again.

"He seemed like a nice person at first… only for him to take advantage of someone when we weren't looking!"

"But… I still want to meet him! I don't care about what sort of bad things he did, I wanna meet him!" When he looked into her pleading eyes, he couldn't help but flinch. She looked like she was going to cry.

"...Maybe someday! I'm sure we'll meet up with him so you could talk to him!" Her ears and tail perked up when he gave her hope.

"Really?! I'll meet the Shield Hero?!" He rubbed the top of her head and smiled.

"Yeah! But first, you gotta be strong! I mean like, really strong if you want to meet the Shield Hero!"

"Then I'll be strong! Strong enough to meet the Shield Hero!" She raised her hands in happiness.

"Yeah! Let's both be the strongest!"

"Okay!" He took her hand and started to walk out of the room. As he left, he could hear the soldiers and the king discussing something to themselves. Oh well, it didn't matter to Motoyasu. His smiling face had soon dropped into one of anger. It was all because of one person in his thoughts…

Naofumi...

Unknown to Raphtalia, she wouldn't be seeing the Shield Hero anytime soon…

* * *

And so, several weeks had passed. Several… strange weeks for Motoyasu. As the weeks went by, Raphtalia had somehow grown in size! No longer was she a child anymore! She was the age of a teen now!

Besides that, Raphtalia had been training and training nonstop, hoping to meet the Shield Hero one day. When she wasn't hungry, she wanted to train with a sword. When she woke up in the morning, she wanted to train with a sword. Even when she was tired, she wanted to continue to train with a sword.

This was all because she wanted to meet the Shield Hero…

At this, Motoyasu felt bad for manipulating Raphtalia like this. He had given her false hope, only for it to die out as soon as she realized that she wasn't going to meet with the Shield Hero. Possibly never.

Now wasn't the time for Motoyasu to think like this. Not with the current situation that he was in…

The first wave had started. Him, along with Raphtalia in his team, they battled through the monsters with barely any trouble. All they had to do is deal with the boss, and save everyone from the monsters. Seems simple enough.

"Motoyasu-sama, I'll-*cough!*- go see if the people in the nearby village need any help!" Ever since he found her, Raphtalia had been coughing a lot. He feared that she was sick with a disease or something. But even so, the healing items that were inside the castle didn't help her with her sickness. Motoyasu feared that she could… be gone in any day now.

"Alright, then! I'll meet with you later!" She nodded her head and left for the nearby village. With the monsters minimizing, the villagers were not going to have to deal with the monsters! Because of him, he was going to get praised by many! Even Malty will praise him for his bravery!

But then, will it be alright to just leave her alone? Maybe he should help her out if she needed it. Yeah, he probably should. Motoyasu had hurried to the village where Raphtalia went with his team battling out with the monsters, wondering where he was going.

* * *

Ever since she was young, Raphtalia knew that wasn't going to make it for long. With the sickness that she had caught when she had been captured, she knew that she wasn't going to make it. But still, she hoped that with the healing items that she was given to stall out for her time living, she wanted to meet the Shield Hero. That was the person that she wanted to meet the most before she… leaves forever.

"If you want to be useful, then go leave! I should've just left you hopeless idiots!" While Raphtalia was running into the village, she overheard someone yelling. Looking for the source of the voice, she traveled up some more to find that there was a black haired man protecting a villager from a dead soldier with only a shield in hand.

_'Why does he only have a shield? He's not going to be able to fight back!'_ As quick as the thought came to her, she rushed into to save the black haired man.

"Ha!" In a single swipe, she took out the dead soldier with ease. Looking back, she could see the surprised look that the villager had before he left in a panic. But when she looks at the man with the shield…

He only looked at her glaring eyes…

"What, so you're the only one of those simple-headed soldiers that decided that the village needed saving? Or are you another one of the Spear Hero's harem? What was his name? Motoshahi, right?" He spoke to her with venom in his voice, which caused her to flinch a bit. But when he spoke about Motoyasu with such disrespect, it only made feel upset. An what else did he say? Being part of a harem?

"I-I'm one of those soldiers, yes, but even then, I'm not part of that… thing that you said. I carry no-*cough*- romantic feelings towards him. He… saved my life so I'm forever loyal to him. Don't speak such ill words to-*cough* him!"

"...Whatever. Anyone who sides with that shit head is only stupid for what it's worth. I'm pretty sure that he's only a lazy prick that only wants women to do shit for him. I only feel bad for your situation. Now then, leave. I'll protect the rest of these villagers on my own." Raphtalia felt her eyebrow twitch when he ignored her. He started to walk away so he didn't have to deal with her.

"No, I will not be leaving! I will show you the training that he had given me, to show you that he isn't as lazy as you say! And besides, with only a shield, how will you kill these already dead soldiers?" He stopped in his tracks before looking back at her with cold eyes.

"Annoying." With those eyes staring back at her, she could only shiver in fear with the way they looked…

Cold and without emotion…

She wonders to herself:_ 'Why are they like that? What has he experienced in his life that made him look at anyone… with those eyes?'_

"Fine, do whatever you want to save them. Just don't get in my way. These villagers should be lucky that I'm protecting their sorry asses." With the way he thinks of himself being higher than the villagers, it only made Raphtalia even more upset.

"If you think so poor of the villagers, then why must you protect them?!" He turned around before walking away from her. With nothing else to say, she turned her back towards him, ready to save another villager's life.

"Because I'm human. And it's because I'm cursed to be the Shield Hero." When he said those final words, Raphtalia turned back, only to find that he was no longer there. Was he… actually the Shield Hero that she wanted to meet? No, there was no time for that. It was time to save lives.

"*Cough* *Cough* Can it be? Was he-*cough*- actually the Shield Hero?" With that, she looked for any monster to slay.

After the constant battles, the black haired man and Raphtalia met up with one another again. This time, she could only hope that he would look at her in a new light.

"Now… what do you… think of...me?" Raphtalia was out of breath. Because of those battles, she didn't think she could raise her sword any longer.

"When you come up to me like that, I can only of you being pathetic." She gritted her teeth in anger. Why was he like this? For saving his life, for proving her worth to Motoyasu, why does he act like this?

"I'm… still… not done…! I'll… show you… that I'm… not pathetic…!" As she tried to walk away, she collapsed on the ground, out of breath, and out of energy.

"*Cough!* *Cough!* *Cough!*" Raphtalia kept coughing as she laid on the floor.

"Hey, what the hell's wrong with you? Are you sick?" Raphtalia sees him coming to her side to see how she was feeling. Putting his hand on her head, he instantly flinched back.

"The hell?! Why the hell are you burning so much!" Raphtalia looked at his shield before her consciousness fades.

"Shield...Hero…" But before she slipped into darkness, she could hear two voices arguing with one another.

"Damnit, Naofumi, what the hell did you do this time?!" It was Motoyasu's voice.

"Me?! The hell are you doing sending out a sick person to fight?! She's burning up you know!" It was also the black-haired man named Naofumi voice. Wait, wasn't the Shield Hero's name that Motoyasu told her Naofumi?

* * *

"Raphtalia, how do you like the party?" Raphtalia looked to see Motoyasu after leaving Malty's side. As soon as Malty came, she was seen to be glaring daggers at Raphtalia. Several days had passed after that day with the black haired man. Today, because of her bravery of helping the villagers, she was invited to the party.

"I'm fine, Motoyasu-sama. I'm-*cough!* hanging in there…" His face was of sorrow as he heard her cough again. Raphtalia's voice was very weak. If this continued, then she might not make it before the night was over.

"Are you sure? You can always go back to your room and rest." Yes, everything that the black-haired man said about Motoyasu was wrong. He was very kind to her, even if she had to deal with the soldier's and Malty's stares.

"Thank you, I think I'll do just that." She smiled before walking away from him.

"Stay safe, Raphtalia!" He shouted out, causing everyone to look at them In embarrassment, she quickly waved and left that area.

_'Hm, maybe I should grab something to eat before leaving.'_ She thought to herself before she left the room. After grabbing a plate to put some food on it, she started to walk towards the door.

Only for her to notice someone in the corner of her eye…

"It's… you…" After walking to the black-haired man, she stood in front of him. He stood away from everyone else, not wanting to cause attention to himself. Raphtalia would only wonder why.

"...You again? Looks like you're not sick anymore." He stood with his arms crossed as if he was disappointed at something.

"That's… not the case. I'm…*cough!* still a bit under the dumps." After she said that, she reached for something in his pocket.

"Figured. You're lucky that I made this at the right time." In his hand, was a healing potion. As it was like any other healing potion, this one was more green than the rest.

"What's… this?" Raphtalia stared at the potion with a confused look.

"It's medicine. I made this to cure illness, so it's best if you take it." Raphtalia hesitated before taking the potion from out of his hand. Setting the food down on a nearby table, she continued to stare at it.

"Go ahead, drink it. I'm sure it'll cure anything that you're suffering right now." Opening the lid, she stared at the potion with uncertainty. Should she trust this man? The man who had not insulted her, but Motoyasu?

But for some reason, she started to drink the potion…

"Ew!" Noticing the disgusting flavor, she opened her mouth, only for the medicine to start leaking from her mouth.

"Hey, you're supposed to drink it!"

"But it tastes nasty~!" Raphtalia didn't notice it, but she was started to talk with a more clearer voice now.

"Stop acting like a child and drink it! Everything healthy tastes nasty!" With everything that she could muster up, she downed the entire potion.

"How do you feel?" Raphtalia took a second before answering.

"I feel… better." She was amazed to know that the potion was able to cure her illness. If she had this before, then she wouldn't have much trouble training to meet the Shield Hero one day.

Wait… Shield Hero…

"Are you… the Shield Her-"

"Naofumi!" Before she could ask him anything, she heard Motoyasu's voice above the other people in the room.

"Huh? What the hell do you want now?" Naofumi looked at Motoyasu with a heated glare.

"Is it true that you forced Raphtalia to protect you and the other villagers?!" Naofumi looked at him as if he has a second head.

"What?! Where the hell did you hear this from?!"

"It doesn't matter! Now tell me, is it true?!" Naofumi took a second before answering.

"No, I didn't. I was protecting a villager on my own until this girl popped up and saved me. After that, she wanted to fight as well, so I allowed her to. She chose to fight on her own, I didn't force her."

"No, they're lies! I saw him force himself on her and forced her to fight for him!" Raphtalia looked to see the man from the village that she saved a few days back. Wait, what was he talking about?

_'Force… himself on me? What is he talking about?'_ Before Raphtalia could ask the villager anything, Motoyasu spoke.

"See! So you're lying, Naofumi! Just like you did with Malty! Always forcing yourself on women and-"

"Shut the hell up!" Naofumi's voice had been louder anyone that was in the party.

"I don't want to hear from you that I force myself on women. I don't trust a single damn one of them after what that piece of shit of did to me! I told you that I didn't force her to do anything, so back the hell off!" Naofumi looked as if he was going to attack him. No, Raphtalia was going to have to do something about this.

"Motoyasu-sama, he didn't do anything that man said!" Standing in front of Naofumi, she raised her arms, wanting them to stop arguing.

"Raphtalia… are you-"

"Don't believe her! The Shield Hero is controlling her mind! I saw him give her a potion!" Malty yelled out for Motoyasu to hear. With that, he clenched his spear.

"Is… is this true, Raphtalia! Are you being controlled by Naofumi?!" He was about to raise his spear against the person that he raised.

"Wh-what?! No, I'm not being controlled! He gave medicine so I could be cured of my illness!" Her was shaky; she was scared that the person that raised her was about to attack her with his spear.

"What the hell are you saying now! How the hell can I even control her?! I might be the Shield Hero, but nothing in the skill tree allows any of us to do that!" Raphtalia looked at him with surprised eyes.

_'He's… the Shield Hero?'_ She thought to herself.

"Don't believe them, Motoyasu! She's controlled and you know it! Why else would she be trying to protect the Shield Hero?!" Malty looked at Raphtalia with a smirk. She was… playing her!

"Raphtalia…" Motoyasu looked at Raphtalia with uncertain eyes. Was he… actually thinking that she was being controlled?!

"Motoyasu-sama, please, believe me! I'm not controlled! I'm-" Before she could say anything else, Raphtalia was greeted with a spear to her neck.

"I'm sorry, Raphtalia. I'll… release you from this pain. I won't allow anyone like Naofumi to harm you."

"Motoyasu...sama?" She looks at him with teary eyes for not believing in her.

"Damnit, come on!" Before Raphtalia could say or think of anything else, she felt her body being pulled away from the people in the party room.

All Raphtalia wanted to do now was just sleep and hope that this was just a dream...

(A/N)

As terrible as it looks, I wanted to get this idea out of my head for a while now. If anyone wants more of this, then I'll be happy to think of more chapters for this story.


	2. Chapter 2

Before he met Raphtalia, Naofumi Iwatani was considered an angry man. But he wasn't like this when he first arrived in this new world. He was filled with positivity and enthusiasm when he first arrived. Even with meeting the other heroes, he was a bit happy that he could relate with them because… they had been summoned in this world as well. Well, that was pretty much the only thing that Naofumi could think of…

But now, all he could do is despise their very existence. Why you will ask? It was because they were so full of themselves. They even believed that everything that they're experiencing now is just an MMO that they played on the PCs.

But most of all, he despises Motoyasu the most…

Because of his brain being attached to his privates, he could only flirt with women. No, he WILL only listen to women. It didn't matter if there was a matter of right or wrong, as long as a woman is there, he will only believe her. Naofumi knows this well. Ever since the moment that they greeted with one another, he always believed that Motoyasu was just a pretty boy. Naofumi didn't like the same gender, he only believed this because of Motoyasu's looks. He could tell that Motoyasu was a chick magnet. And after what happened to Naofumi, his thoughts on him was proved correct.

Naofumi Iwatani had been accused of being a rapist…

"Tch." Naofumi gritted his teeth in anger.

Just the thought of _that_ woman only fed onto his anger. When he was on his knees with weapons at his neck, he could only watch the woman that he believed was his only partner smirk at him. She played him like a toy! She faked this entire situation to play the matters into Motoyasu's favor because she liked him. She wanted nothing to the Shield Hero. She wanted nothing to do with Naofumi Iwatani.

She only cared about Motoyasu: The Spear Hero…

When he stared at the other women that were in the castle, they only looked at him with disgust. This was the beginning of when he started to lose trust in women. They would only use him as a toy to get what they want. Just like _her._ He couldn't trust another one. Not another one of those… things. To Naofumi, they were disgusting and greedy. He would speak of experience with that women that he trusted before.

Never again will he lay his heart in the hands of a woman…

Never again…

He was cursed to become the Shield Hero...

This was the Shield Hero's beginning...

* * *

Naofumi stared at the brown-haired demi-human with cold eyes. Why was he even here to begin with? Why was he in the wave protecting people? With his lack of trust, he shouldn't be doing this. He shouldn't be risking his life for such… worthless people. Everyone despised him for being the Shield Hero. So why is he here protecting people?

The answer was simple: it's because he's human…

No matter what fueled his hatred, he still had a human heart that yearned for innocence. With his heart betraying his mind, it will only think about what's best for him. And that was to save people.

Because in the back of his mind, he hoped to prove that he was innocent…

That explained the reason as to why he's here, but for what reason is he staring at a… _woman? _It was because she saved his life. That was the reason as to why he looked at her. If it was the Naofumi for when he first arrived here, he would be thanking her as if his life depended on it. But the current Naofumi can only look at her with cold eyes.

He had no to reason to affiliate himself with a woman. All they would do is betray him at a certain point. He couldn't trust another woman. No, he shouldn't trust another woman.

That's why he left her to her own troubles after he was done speaking to her. He shouldn't be wasting his time speaking to another woman.

* * *

But for some reason, here he is again, letting the woman lay in his bed as she sleeps from the party that they attended. With the bags under her eyes, he could easily see that she hadn't been sleeping well. The woman, Raphtalia had a tear-stained face. She had been crying last night, not believing of the events that transpired.

"Hey, wake up already. It's morning." Naofumi shook Raphtalia's sleeping form as she started to stir awake.

"Hm? S-sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." For some reason, when she apologized, his eyebrow twitched.

"Don't worry about it. Now get up, I have some work to do." Before Naofumi left the room, he felt a tug on his sleeve. Looking back, he could see Raphtalia looking up at him.

"What?" He asked, with no sign of leaving the venom out of his voice. She flinched before answering.

"I-I have a question." She looked conflicted. It was as if she asked him this, he would easily be offended.

"Yeah? Say it already."

"Y-you're the Shield Hero, correct?" Naofumi raised his arm to show the shield that was on his arm. As much as Naofumi wanted to get rid of it, he couldn't. Even if he threw it away, it will only come back to him; He was cursed of its very existence.

"Yeah, so what about it?" Raphtalia stared at the shield with wonder, only for her wondrous expression to be replaced with tears.

"Hey, why the hell are you crying? I didn't hurt you, did I?!" For some reason, no matter if she was crying, it will only make him angrier. Her crying only made quick flashes of that woman when she pretended to be assaulted.

"I'm… just happy. I'm finally able to meet you, after all of these years." She had tears of… happiness? She was happy to meet him? For what reason would a woman be happy to meet the Shield Hero?! Don't they despise the Shield Hero?!

"...For what reason? For what reason would you, a woman, would you want to meet me?" He crossed his arms, waiting for her next answer.

"Because… because…" For whatever reason, Raphtalia couldn't think of an answer to say to him. Because of the constant tears, she couldn't think straight. She was thankful for him saving her from Motoyasu, but-

"If you can't think of an answer, then don't bother saying anything to me." Naofumi started to walk towards the door to leave until-

*Crack!*

"Huh? What was that?" Naofumi looked back to Raphtalia and asked this, only for her to shrug her shoulders. After wiping her tears away, she looked to the direction of where the noise came from. She looked towards the desk that was in the room.

"Pi!" What laid on the desk, was a pink little bird that chirped in happiness. This was the egg that Naofumi had bought from the slave merchant last night after he laid Raphtalia to rest. After he laid her in bed, he decided to visit a slave merchant. He was informed from the slave merchant that if he had a slave, then he didn't have to worry about fighting on his own. All he would have to do is protect the monster as they battle together.

But he didn't think that he would get a little chick…

"What is… this?" Naofumi had been the first to respond to the weird bird that had hatched from the egg. After walking up to the chick, the pink chick chirped in happiness again and flew onto his head.

"Is that a Filolial?!" Raphtalia got off from the bed and walked up to Naofumi to see the pink bird. It seemed to look happy as it laid on top of his head. Raphtalia only giggled as she saw the bird continue to chirp in happiness.

"Is that what this bird is called? I didn't expect it to be this small. I was hoping that it was going to be helpful enough to help me in battle." Raphtalia looked at with a confused look. She was unsure if he should allow a Filolial to fight for him.

"Well, you're going to have to wait for it to grow up first before you think about doing that. But even so, why would you want a Filolial to fight for you? Can't you just-"Naofumi already knew what she was going to say. He always questioned it as well, only for him to know the hard way.

"I can't use any other weapon other than the shield itself. If I use anything else, I would only experience pain. This is another curse of becoming the Shield Hero…" Raphtalia felt… bad for him. No matter how rude he was to her, she still felt some sort of sympathy towards him.

_'Probably acting like that so I could get softer on her.'_ Naofumi noticed that her ears had drooped down with a sad look, showing that she was feeling bad for him.

"Is that so…" Raphtalia went into silence after she said this. She couldn't think of anything to say to him after that.

"Hey, are you going to just sit there, or are you coming with me?" Naofumi waited at the doorway, waiting for Raphtalia to make up her mind. For Naofumi, he didn't know why he wanted to bring her along with him. For his safety, he shouldn't bring her with him. She could easily betray him in any second. All that had to happen was for him to act softer on her, and then she would just take advantage of that soft side of him. He would admit it, he was afraid of women. His lack of trust in them proves it. He was… insecure.

"Why? Don't you… dislike me?" Naofumi's tongue clicked before he answered back.

"Why? Because you've been betrayed by that prick and that… _woman._ What, you want to go back to them? You'll get killed there because you're and I quote: "being controlled by me". Everyone, including that prick, would only-" Raphtalia didn't want to listen to his disrespect towards Motoyasu.

"He isn't like that! He's… in the wrong right now. I'm… sure that if I explain to him about the situation, then all will be fine. Shouldn't you do the same? I'm sure that if you explain that you didn't-"

"I already tried it. That naive thinking that you have right now will only get yourself killed. I hoped that the people could understand that I didn't do what that _woman_ said because I'm the Shield Hero, only for it to be the opposite. It's because I'm the Shield Hero, that everyone doesn't believe me. Everyone favors the other heroes. Especially Motoyasu. He bought into what that woman said and treated me as if I was a criminal. He acts so full of himself when he has women by his side. In the end, he's nothing but a coward."

"No, that's not what he told me! He said that it was YOU, who was acting full of himself. You… almost raped my comrade!" When she spoke of her 'comrade', Naofumi gritted his teeth in anger. That was what he thought of that _woman _before...

"The same 'comrade' that told Motoyasu that you're being controlled?! That woman wanted nothing to do with you! She held onto her cards so she could soon be rid of you! What happened last night proves it!"

"No… maybe she was right. Maybe… I'm being controlled by you! I shouldn't had protected you from Motoyasu-sama when he had the chance to take you down!" Naofumi was started to get pissed at her own words.

"So this is what I get for saving your life? For all I could know, you could've died from that sickness! I made that for you because you saved my life!"

"Then maybe it was a mistake! Because of you, my life had turned out like this! It was all good until I met you, the Shield Hero!"

"...That's what everyone says about me. Always believing in the Spear Hero. Like hell I was always in the wrong! It was because of that trash king, that I'm in this situation!"

"Don't you dare blame the king for this! He hasn't done anything to you!"

"It was because he brought me to this shitty world, that I'm like this! I'm the victim!" Raphtalia stopped talking. She never thought she could show… such anger towards someone. It felt… wrong. She… shouldn't be acting like this. She should… apologize for what she said to him.

_'Then maybe it was a mistake! Because of you, my life had turned out like this! It was all good until I met you, The Shield Hero.'_ The thought of what she said to him twisted her stomach.

"I'm-" She started, only for her to get cut off.

"Get out." Naofumi said, with his back towards her.

"What?" Raphtalia was in shock when he blatantly told her to leave.

"I said get out. It's clear that you don't want to be here in my protection. If you would rather want to live with that lady chaser, then go ahead. You get killed there, and that will be on you." He stood at the doorway, waiting for him to leave his sight.

Raphtalia looked at the floor for a second, pondering at what she could do next. Should she stay with him, the person that had made her life like this, or should she go back to Motoyasu, where she was happy?

What should she decide on…?

Raphtalia looked up to the Shield Hero, only to find him gone…

* * *

That was two days ago for Raphtalia. Ever since she was left there, she had decided to find a place to stay. In a nearby village, she had rented a house for a day before she leaving towards the castle again.

"Phew, I think that's enough for today's training." For those two days, Raphtalia had been leaving out into the field to slay monsters to get stronger.

_'I have to get stronger, just like Motoyasu-sama said! One day, I'm sure that I'll meet the…'_ Raphtalia paused her thoughts before noticing that she had been with the Shield Hero two days ago. Because of that outburst from two days ago, the thought of her speaking more about the Shield Hero's stories had been left out of thought. She should apologize for how she acted. No, for Rifana, she will apologize to him. While he is a bit… insecure around people, he was still the Shield Hero. Surely he has a good side to him. All Raphtalia had to do is apologize and speak to him with a clear mind.

Wait, who's Rifana…? Raphtalia took a second to think of that name, only for it to disappeared as quick as it came up.

"Filo, it's time for some monster hunting. You in?" Raphtalia heard a familiar voice inside a stable next to her. Was that… the Shield Hero? These stables were used for houses for Filolial alike. Why would the Shield Hero be inside the stable?

"...Shield Hero?" Raphtalia asked as she looked to see Naofumi, the Shield Hero, petting a Filolial. He was seen with a smile as he continued to pet the Filolial. This was… something that Raphtalia hasn't seen from him yet. For some reason… she thinks that it would be better if he would smile more often. It'll make people think less of him then.

But then, his cold eyes… they sort of… drew her into them. She hated how they looked at her. She didn't anyone to look at her with such eyes again! If only he could smile more. With that, it'll feel more comforting to speak to him, The Shield Hero.

Because it only reminds her of her young and weak self...

"Hm? Oh, it's _you_ again." As soon as Naofumi heard her voice, his smile had immediately dropped. It seems that he doesn't approve of her presence.

"Yes, it's _me_ again. What are you doing here?" Raphtalia crossed her arms as she waited for his answer. This was going to take some time for both of them.

_'Since when did she start acting like this?'_ Naofumi wondered as he let go of his Filolial's head. She was starting to act all tough all of a sudden.

"I could ask the same thing. Why aren't you with that prick, Motoyasu?" When Raphtalia heard that word, she clenched her fist. Why wasn't she apologizing? Why was she acting this way towards the Shield Hero? This was the person that she wanted to meet ever since she was… little. But for what reason did she want to meet him? For the life of her, she couldn't remember.

"You answer first. I asked first."

"Tch, you're becoming annoying. Fine, I'm here because _I_ want to. Now then, what's your reason?" Raphtalia's eyebrow twitched when he spoke to her with such… disrespect.

"I'm here because _I_ want to. I'll be going to Motoyasu-sama's side soon."

"Oh boy, you're a hopeless cause." Hearing that, Raphtalia wanted to raise her voice.

"What was that?!"

"I fail to see why you will be willing to go back to him. Let me put this into your head. He. Almost. Killed. You. If I hadn't been there, then yes, you'll be there on the floor, looking at 'Motoyasu-sama's' eyes, wondering why he would turn his weapon against you." Raphtalia knew that he was trying to mock her.

"That's…!" But then, was it not true? She was there, looking at Motoyasu with pleading eyes for him to believe her. But then, he only believed in-

"No, stop trying to manipulate me! I'm… not going to believe you! He would… never-"

"Would you stop it already! He used you! You're a woman, and he used you! Soon, he would eventually try to do 'something' to you!"

"And why would you care?!" When Raphtalia asked that, Naofumi flinched.

"...Do you SERIOUSLY have a 'thing' for him?! You have already been used, Woman! That woman used you, and that prick! Just stop it already!"

"No. Motoyasu-sama saved my life and I'm-"

"And I saved your life as well. Without that potion I made, you wouldn't have survived that illness." Raphtalia flinched because he was right. No, that potion that he had created was made to cure her illness. Not even Motoyasu was able to even do that. But even still, he tried and he tried and he tried.

"He… tried constantly to save my life from that illness. For that, I'm grateful." Naofumi stopped talking and looked back to the Filolial that he had been petting before.

"Gwah?" The Filolial looked at him with saddened eyes. Perhaps that it felt saddened for the argument that it had to listen to?

"Sorry Filo, I couldn't I couldn't convince her." Naofumi mumbled.

"Huh? Are you talking to that Filolial?" Too bad for him that she didn't hear a word that he said.

"Yes, what of it? Why is it any of your business? Let's go, Filo." Naofumi had unlocked the door that the Filolial was behind, and started to walk towards the door.

"Filo? You mean that you named that Filolial, Filo?" Raphtalia looked at him with astonished eyes, not believing what she was hearing from him.

"Yeah, again, what's it got to do with you?"

"You suck at names, you know."

"She likes it so it doesn't matter. And also, you suck at logic."

"Huh?! Logic?!" She hated how he acted towards her. The way he spoke to her, and the way he behaves. These were the things that she hated about the Shield Hero, Naofumi Iwatani!

But then, those cold eyes that continued to stare at her only drew her more into more conversations with him...

* * *

"You cheated! You didn't say that you're Filolial was a tub of lard!" This was Malty speaking. She was pissed off that Motoyasu had lost the race that they were sure to win. Soon after Raphtalia and Naofumi's arguments, Motoyasu and Malty had appeared in the middle of the village, requesting that they hand the rights of the region to Motoyasu. The hotshot was so full of himself. And so, in order to stop them, Naofumi, who didn't want anything to do with the village, was forced to comply.

And now, this led to where we are now…

"The hell are you talking about! She transformed after the race, I didn't cheat! If anything, you were the one who cheated!"

"Oh? Do you have any proof of this?" Malty was sure that she had secretly influenced the race with no one noticing. With her men to sabotage Naofumi, she was sure to win…

But then, why was it that Naofumi won…?!

"The Shield Hero is right." A woman's voice had been heard from the person that bowed before Malty.

"We detected traces of magic on the course." The unknown figure spoke. When they suddenly appeared, Malty had been seen uneasy of their presence. Who were these people?

"I-It was obviously that criminal!" She pointed at Naofumi, trying to make them believe that Naofumi was the one who cheated.

"No. The Shield Hero's magic affinities are healing and support. Your… previous raccoon comrade is light and dark. They were completely different types of magic that we had detected." Naofumi was put on the edge of his imaginary seat.

_'They know this much about me? No, not even that, why was that raccoon woman even being brought up? Did they think that she was with me?'_ Naofumi thought to himself as he continued to listen to Malty's… excuses.

"F-Fine, we shall leave for today! Motoyasu, we're leaving!" Malty had called out for Motoyasu, only for him to not be paying attention to her.

He was staring at Raphtalia as he walked up to her…

"Raphtalia? Are you the Raphtalia that I know?" Raphtalia flinched when she heard him speak to him. While she was happy enough to see him, she knew what was going on in the race.

His comrades had cheated…

Raphtalia wanted to believe that Motoyasu had nothing to do with it; he's too kind to even do that! But then, what if he was acting like nothing was happening? What if he was using her for his own gain? No, he wouldn't! There would be no reason to!

As much as she wanted to forget about the magic spells that she heard with her raccoon ears, it wouldn't hide the fact that Motoyasu had cheated.

"Yes, Motoyasu-sama. I'm here…" Her head started to hurt. When she wanted to speak to him, all that played back into her memory was the spear that he held as he was about to attack her.

"You're… not under his control… right?" Raphtalia shook her head.

"No, I'm not. I'm not under his control, and I never was, Motoyasu-sama."

"I'm… glad. Thank the gods that you aren't that rapist's control!" Motoyasu embraced her as he was happy that she was… free.

"Yes, I'm… not under his control…" For some reason, tears started to leak out of Raphtalia's eyes. Not from happiness, but from sadness.

"I'm sorry that I almost attacked you. I… didn't know what to do at that time. But… all is forgiven right?! You're here, and you're not under his control!" When she looked up at him, he wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Yes, I'm okay!" Raphtalia smiled at him, realizing that she was happy to see him again. After their embrace, Raphtalia looked to see… the Shield Hero standing there with disgust in his eyes. Was his eyes… becoming colder?

"You were right. Why should I even care about you? No, why would I even trust a woman after what she's done to me?" Naofumi gritted his teeth, not liking that Raphtalia was back with Motoyasu. He had tried to convince her constantly! But… she threw those chances away.

"Hahaha! What's wrong, Naofumi? Upset for the fact that you're mind control didn't work on Raphtalia? Everything that has happened to you was because of your poor decisions. All you do is hide while someone battles it out for you! You're such a coward!" Naofumi looked at him with eyes that started to bring fear to Motoyasu.

"Coward? You're calling me a coward? All you do is hide behind women. You think you're tough because you have the king's praises? The people's praises? The women's praises? You're nothing but a coward that-"

"And look who's saying that, Shield Hero?" Naofumi looked to see that it was Malty staring at him with a visible smirk.

Just like how she looked at Raphtalia…

"All you have is nothing, Shield Hero! You even dared to try to rape me, princess of Melromarc!" After announcing that, people started to talk.

"He… tried to rape the princess?"

"He's the Shield Hero, right? He… tried to rape the princess?"

"No… I won't believe it! He would never try to do such a thing!"

"Yeah, what would he even gain from that?!" Naofumi couldn't take it anymore. As there were people who supported Naofumi, all he could hear was that he was the one who tried to rape the princess.

**'He raped the princess! He deserves no mercy..!"**

**"Such a wild dog. He thinks he's higher than the others because he's the Shield Hero…"**

**"Leave, and never come back, Shield Hero…!"**

"No, shut up! It wasn't me!" Naofumi had his hands to his ears, not wanting to hear their voices. He had been sure that he was able to put these voices in the back of his head. From constant nightmares, he hadn't been able to stop hearing them. He didn't want to hear them anymore!

"What, can't handle the truth, Naofumi? This is why you're a coward." Motoyasu laughed at the state of Naofumi. But Raphtalia… she could only stare with saddened eyes as Naofumi deals with the inner thoughts.

"Shut...up! Damn you, Scum Bag!" Naofumi felt his blood begin to boil after hearing his voice. Looking at both Motoyasu and Raphtalia, he glared at them with uncontrollable rage. For some reason, Raphtalia's heart shattered as she continued to watch the Shield Hero cry out in vain.

"Filo!" Not wanting to stay any longer, he called out to Filo. With Naofumi on Filo's back, they left in a hurry.

"Serves you right! Anyway, Raphtalia, let's go back home. I'm sure that our comrades missed you." Motoyasu said as he held his arm around her shoulder.

"Y-yes, let's go." Raphtalia looked back to see where the Shield Hero was going. But to her surprise, they were quickly gone. Behind her, were the soldiers of Melromarc. For some reason, they glared at her with hatred in their eyes. However, one soldier stood there and smirked at her.

_'Raphtalia-chan!'_

_'Get in, brat!'_

Huh? What was that she heard? Who called out her name? She swore she knew who the person was, but… why couldn't she remember their name?

"Raphtalia? Is there something wrong?" The soldiers and everyone else besides walked ahead of her, not wanting to be close to her for a second.

_'That foolish Spear Hero decided on taking a demi-human has a partner. What a foolish decision. Make sure she doesn't remember anything from that wretched place. We don't want her to go... turning her back on us, do we?'_

_'Yes, yes sir!'_ Whom did these voices belong to? Why did these memories feel… recent?

As she looked up to say that she was alright, but all she found was…

A young girl staring at her with weak eyes…

_'Raphtalia-chan… I wanna go home…'_ Huh? Who was this girl? And why does this girl know her name?

_'Raphtalia-chan, do you think the Shield Hero will come to save us?'_ No, why was she seeing this young girl's face?! Who was this girl?!

_'I wanna meet him and…'_ Instances of soldiers coming to a village was all that Raphtalia could see. She didn't know why, but she started to cry. Why was she seeing these things? Why?

Why did these soldiers look… familiar?

_'Have him make me his wife.'_

"Rifana-chan!" Raphtalia's sudden outburst had caused everyone to look back at her with widened eyes.

"Raphtalia? What's wrong? Who's Rifana-chan?" Raphtalia didn't speak to him. All she did was looked at the soldiers that continued to look at her with glares…

Why did they look like the soldiers from those memories…? No, she… lived somewhere else right? Her… parents were killed… right? She was enslaved because of the soldiers…

Right?

"I… can't do this anymore!" Raphtalia pushed herself away from Motoyasu, only for him to stare back at her with shock in his eyes.

"Raphtalia, what's wrong? Is everything... alright?" He started to walk slowly towards her so he didn't provoke her.

"Get away from me!" Raphtalia had ran away from Motoyasu as he called out for her name. She didn't want to turn back. She had to get away from them. The Shield Hero was right…

If she continued to stay by her side… then she will be killed…

Raphtalia could only hope that she will be able to find the Shield Hero once again...

**(A/N) **

**Um... sorry for the rushed chapter. Yes, I know I did change the story a bit and I'm sorry. I... kind of lied. I had a chapter already written, but I wanted to add more to it because I've been getting some positive feedback to continue the story. Thank you everyone! **


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N) **

**Sorry for a weird and long update again. I had been sick, dealing with prom, dealing with entrance exams, and dealing with projects this entire week. At this point, I don't even know what I could be writing anymore. I'm just hoping that it's not random crap that I had been already doing before. Because of stress, it kind of led me to a state of uncertainty now. No, sorry, I went off topic. It's best if I just started writing now. I don't know when I'll upload this, but I hope you all enjoy it. Oh, before I forget, as vague and stupid I was before, yes, Raphtalia had been brainwashed by soldiers that works under the king. Their objective was to just get rid of Raphtalia's memory of her hometown so they wouldn't have to worry about her leaving them when she grows older. Vague, and I'm sorry. **

It was raining…

When had the rain start feeling so heavy…?

For Raphtalia and Naofumi, they only stared at the sky, only wondering how their life had became so chaotic. Both of them, hoping to find the hope that they needed to help themselves from a world of darkness.

Raphtalia's traumatic experience of watching her own village, along with her parents die…

Naofumi had already escaped from a world of darkness. The world that he had came from was built on stress. For him, the only way to relieve himself from the stress, was to focus on studying. Study. Study. Study. Study. Study. Study. There's no break from the stress that he had endured ever starting college. Welcomed to another world, he hoped that would be relieved of the stress.

Yet, there he was, the Shield Hero: a criminal in everyone's eyes…

There's no end to his stress. Home, people had expectations from him…

Here, everyone wanted his head…

…

…

Let's focus on Raphtalia for now.

Raphtalia stared at the window as she sighed to herself once again. It had been raining for the past… how long was it? She couldn't remember. All that she could remember is trying to run after the Shield Hero. However, to her high expectations, she couldn't find him or his Filolial that he had brought with him. All that was left was trees from where she once thought he had continued to run to.

If she had realized her mistake earlier, she would've been trying to find tracks that could've been left behind from his Filolial as he ran away. Because of the rain, it had been wasted into mud. The Shield Hero was tough for what she could remember of him. His rude behavior, his stance, his eyes, everything about him had told her that he was strong.

Yet, he had painful eyes before leaving away in a hurry. It was her fault, wasn't it? She had acted out of line for when he had disrespected Motoyasu. She was blind enough to not even know that it was in fact the Shield Hero, who wanted the best for her. But even still, Motoyasu had saved her life from poverty. She had been grateful ever since she was allowed to stay inside the castle. From out on the streets, to royal beds. It was the best thing she could've hoped for.

It was all a lie…

"Raphtalia-chan, are you all right?" A woman's voice had interrupted Raphtalia's train of thoughts. Staring outside the window as it rained seemed to force her to think a little. This wasn't the first time she had done this.

"Yes, I'm fine, Fu-chan. I was just...thinking to myself. Is something the matter?" Fu-chan was a 20-year old woman who had helped Raphtalia with her housing problem. After looking countless of hours for any kind of traces of the Shield Hero, she had been found by Fu-chan. Seeing Raphtalia run away from the Motoyasu and the soldiers, she had decided to run after her. After finding her, she had been nice enough to give her a home for the time being after explaining her situation. She had to reside in Lute Village for the time being. At least Motoyasu was gone.

"Are you sure? We can talk some more if you want." Raphtalia smiled sadly at her.

"I'm fine, Fu-chan, I just need some time to myself." Fu-chan had walked up to Raphtalia's sitting form and embraced her.

"If there's something bothering you, it's best if you could speak to someone. No one should allow themselves to live with turmoil," Raphtalia's eyes widened as she heard those words. She had been right. If she had simply listened to the Shield Hero, would he had been willing to speak his mind to her? Would she as well?

"Plus, I did give you a home and a spare of clothes, so you better tell me." Raphtalia giggled a bit before smiling sadly. Her formal clothes that was given to her from Motoyasu was soaked and dirtied up. Because of Fu-chan, she was able to wear a different change of clothes. According to Fu-chan, her sundress looked very good on Raphtalia.

"..." Raphtalia didn't decide to speak. Everything that had happened to her had made her feel a bit insecure about people. Don't berate Raphtalia, she has nothing against Fu-chan, but it's just a matter of trust that's a problem to her.

"Raphtalia-chan, it's about the Shield Hero, isn't it?" Raphtalia nodded silently. It must've been really easy to read her, wasn't it?

"Raphtalia-chan, do you want to know how I felt when the Shield Hero came to our rescue?" Raphtalia's ears twitched in curiosity.

"That's right, I remember seeing the Shield Hero here trying to protect the villagers when I arrived here. Did you talk to him?"

"No, of course not. Back then, I didn't trust the Shield Hero. Why would I? He's said to be a rapist and a criminal!" Fu-chan was already sitting as she rested her head on her hand.

"So what about now?" Raphtalia was curious to know how she felt of the Shield Hero.

"I still don't trust him. Whether he saved my life or not, I still don't trust him."

"H-huh? T-then what is the point of telling me this?"

"I'm telling you because I want to. Even if I don't trust him, somehow, I get the feeling that there's more that meets the eye on him."

"Then….what does this have to do with me?"

"I'm saying this because you too have this feeling, right, Raphtalia?" Raphtalia's eyes widened as she knew that it was true.

"Raphtalia-chan, if you want to chase constantly for hours, would you do it? Even if we was a criminal, even if he was a rapist, even if he was something even worse than he already is, would you still chase him?" Raphtalia pondered for a couple of seconds before answering. Raphtalia thought of the recent encounters that they shared.

From him saving her life…

From them arguing….

From him saving her life…

From them arguing…

From him saving her life...

"I...don't know. When I was young, I heard the stories of how great the Shield Hero was. He…was a hero to the Demi-Humans but...is that really true? Maybe...they had the wrong person? Was he actually a hero? He was...so rude, Fu-chan. I never knew that there was someone that held so much hatred for everyone." Fu-chan held Raphtalia's hand as she tried to comfort her.

"Raphtalia-chan, it's okay. Let me ask you something: what do _you _think that makes a hero?"

"They...save everyone they can with their power. Even with the odds are against that person, they will still press on and fight to save everyone." Fu-chan held a finger on her cheek as she started to wonder a bit.

"Hm, you're right, but you're also wrong."

"I'm...wrong?" Raphtalia used her other hand to overlap Fu-chan's hand. With that, she clenched her hand.

"Yes, being a hero requires that you have the guts to save everyone they can with their power, but that's not all to it. Raphtalia-chan, do you want to know what else there is to it?" Fu-chan asked, feeling her hand being clenched. Raphtalia silently nodded as she looked at her in the eyes.

"No hero had ever come from a tragic past. A past that makes them want to protect, a past that drives them to save everyone, a drive that makes that person want to be seen by others, telling that he, yes, is a hero. But did that person make the best decisions? How tragic was that past of that person? What drive would want them to be seen as a hero? For that, Raphtalia-chan, you already know the answer to." Fu-chan smiled widely.

"I...do?" Raphtalia was confused.

"Of course you do. Had you ever experience something that makes you want to protect?" Fu-chan's words had made Raphtalia think to herself once again.

The village…

The parents that were slayed trying to protect their children…

Motoyasu bringing in a child that he knew nothing of…

"Yes, I've...had my fair share of experiences."

"Then what is it that makes you want to fight? Why do you hold the blade that's attached to your hip?" Again, those experiences played back into her mind like an recorder. As a child, she hadn't hope of becoming anything else other than 'Raphtalia'. She heard the screams, she heard the soldiers laughing in glee, she saw her friend be taken away…

She misses Rifana-chan…

They were too young to experience such trauma. They were children, all they needed was inspiration so they could grow up and become something that they wanted...

"To...save people. I...want to save children, and I want to save parents. I want to protect everyone! Protect them from anything like what happened to me when I was younger! I...want to-"

"Then that's your drive, Raphtalia-chan. Now, what is your first decision with this drive? Will you do this by yourself? Would you need help, would you need the crowd cheering you on as you fight to your last breath? What will you do, Raphtalia-chan?"

To save, to protect, to save, and to protect. Who was she if she fought herself? Will the waves come, would she fight by herself? What will Raphtalia do to save everyone from trauma? But before Raphtalia could speak, Fu-chan had already beat her to it.

"Heroes never fight alone, Raphtalia-chan. They _need _help if they want to survive. After all, everyone is a living being. Human or Demi-Human, they want to survive if they could ever dream of something in their grasp."

"I'll...get help, Fu-chan. I won't fight alone. I will fight til my last breath with my comrades by my side." Fu-chan had finally taken her hand off of Raphtalia's, and stood up. With that, she walked towards the door.

"That's good, Raphtalia-chan. Take that drive, and take it to the stars where everyone will be able to see how shiny you are." She stood at the door, waiting for Raphtalia's next words.

"I will, Fu-chan, thank you for everything that you've done for me." Raphtalia stood up and bowed respectively.

"Raphtalia-chan...you can never fight on your own. Someone is bound to be there for you as life starts to make them grovel on their knees." As Raphtalia looked up, she saw Fu-chan looking at a sword that was displayed on the wall. However, Raphtalia's eyes widened as she saw something that caught her eye. It wasn't the wall, it was Fu-chan's arm as she pulled up the sleeve of her dress.

It was burned…

Not only that, she could also see a ring that lied on her ring finger in all its glory…

Was her husband…-

"Honey, I'm home!" Raphtalia heard a manly voice from downstairs after it was opened. Hearing it, Fu-chan giggled.

"Who knows? Maybe the partner that you seek will always be by your side. And maybe...you could be there for their side." As Raphtalia continued to look at her burned armed with a sad look.

"Oh yeah, Raphtalia-chan?" Before Fu-chan left, she looked back at Raphtalia with a mischievous smile.

"Make sure you thank the Shield Hero after you meet up with him. Because of him, me and my husband are still living. It was all thanks to him." Raphtalia's eyes widened as she quickly realized what she said.

"B-but I didn't say that-"

"Like I said before, Raphtalia-chan, a hero hasn't been created without experiencing something traumatic. This goes to the Shield Hero as well. Do you think someone like him was born with all that hatred? What could possibly be under his personal bubble? Maybe _you _can figure out why he's so pent up in anger." The door was almost shut as she showed one last smile.

"W-wait, what if he-" The door closed.

Raphtalia sighed to herself as she looked at the sword displayed on the wall. She was curious to know what kind of man, Fu-chan's husband is. With the sound of his voice, she could tell that he was energetic.

The Shield Hero's smile had played back into her mind…

'_Would he be able to smile once again like that…? Shield Hero, what had you experienced that makes you carry such hatred…?' _Raphtalia thought to herself as she looked outside.

Raphtalia smiled as she was able to see the beautiful clear sky…

It had stopped raining…

In the middle of the sky, was a beautiful rainbow that bloomed across the sky…

If she wanted to know, she was going to have to figure out herself. Sitting and contemplating wasn't going to help.

'_I'll save everyone, Shield Hero. Even you, Shield-no, Naofumi. I'll save the you that hates the world. I have to…so I could finally rest…' _Raphtalia stood up from her chair and opened the door…

A hero shall be born today…


	4. Chapter 4

**(A/N) **

**Let me get straight to the point. I want a...special character to be brought into the story. As everyone knows how different this is to the actual story of Rise of the Shield Hero, I was having the thought of having a...separate character from the series. We all know that Rise of the Shield Heroes world is... complicated at some parts as there are Demi-Humans, and even talking Filolials. Hm, how about I give a hint? The character is a girl, she can transform into a dragon and she is from a mobile game. Now, for anyone who knows who I'm talking about, I'll give you a cookie. Also, I want to know if you all would be okay with the person I have in mind to be added to the story. I won't try to add to the story with the mobile game's story, all I'm trying to do is make the interaction happen. Thank you all for reading. Hope you all enjoy. **

**(She's from a volcano…) **

Naofumi stared at the sky as he pondered to himself of how swell his life was going. He had been summoned to an entirely different world, been accused of rape, his only weapon is a shield, he met a stubborn raccoon girl, and now, he's...dealing with a child. Two days had passed after leaving that _woman _to her own problems.

"Master~! I want seconds~!" The said child was busy downing some stew that Naofumi had cooked up.

"You're already eating your 'seconds'! Jeez, where does all of that food go when you eat? Is your stomach some sort of black hole?!" As the child continued to eat, she tilted her head in confusion.

"What's a...black hole?" Naofumi facepalmed at the question.

"Nevermind."

"Oh! Is it some sort of food?!" The child asked with high energy.

"No, it's not a food. Just focus on eating and then sleep." Naofumi was tired of his adventure that he had that day. Just thinking about it had made his head start to hurt. He was busy running away from Melromarc's soldiers, fought against more of those balloon monsters, and dealt with the child. Now, they sat in front of a fire in the middle of the night just waiting for the next day to come.

"Master, do you think that we'll be able to see that nice woman from before?" After the child had finished eating, she looked at Naofumi with saddened eyes.

"Filo, please, stop asking me that question. We have nothing to do with her. And besides, you call that _woman _nice?!" Yes, the child that he was talking to was Filo. You know, the Filolial that he was riding when he won that race that day? Oh, how about the Filolial that was born from that egg that he was given from that slave holder? Well, Naofumi remembers well. It was surprising at first for Naofumi as a humongous bird had suddenly transformed into a child in front of his own eyes, but he got used to her. Filo was with him for a long time so of course there wasn't any reasons for him to hate her. Even if she grows to become a..._woman._

"But, Master, why not~?!" Filo complains by swinging her arms into the air like a child. Well, she is a child.

"We don't need her, Filo. She'll eventually just end up kissing up to that Prick's feet after she's done with us. Just sleep, Filo."

"But I liked having her around~! She's very fun to be around with~! I can tell that you like her company too, Master~!" Naofumi didn't say anything at first before closing his eyes as he began to speak again.

"Sleep, Filo." Filo was laying down with a blanket on her small figure. Huffing to herself, she turned the opposite direction and started to catch some sleep.

'_There's no way I would miss her. Sure, she's like one of the only women I talk to, but I will never miss her. She chose her decision and that's the end of it.' _Naofumi opened his eyes again as he continued to stare at the fire.

There's no way Naofumi would miss a woman…

He couldn't trust another woman…

…

* * *

"Master~! We're we going~?!" Filo was wearing a cloth because Naofumi didn't have any clothes for her. At first, she was just a naked child with only a simple cloth covering her bare body. This was just another problem for Naofumi that had to be dealt.

"We're going to see an acquaintance of mine to see if he has some extra clothes to give you. I'm not trying to walk around in this hell-hole with a child that has nothing on but a cloth for clothing."

"But that sound complicated, Master~!"

"Stop complaining, Filo. And stop yelling that out loud in the public, I don't want to be stared at even more." As Naofumi continued to walk, he already noticed the stares that he was given from the people of Melromarc.

Eyes of hatred…

Eyes of disgust…

Naofumi could only grit his teeth as he started to feel the anger boil within himself. They didn't know anything about him. They didn't know the pain that he was feeling, they didn't know that he was in the right, they didn't know that the king and his bitch of a daughter was nothing but trouble. All of their stares were judgmental.

And because of that, he hates them all…

They were all blind to what they hear, not of what they could see…

He was suffering…

And it was all because of the king…

"Yo!" Naofumi heard a familiar voice as he noticed that he was inside the building of the blacksmith that he mentioned earlier. Naofumi was surprised to even walk into the building without even noticing himself.

"Huh? How did I-"

"You've been standing like that for quite a while now. Earlier, I walked outside to enjoy the view, only for me to see a sad and depressing teenager moping to himself as he stares at the ground. You were about to walk pass me before I grabbed your head and directed your body to walk inside my shop. I have to say, it was quite funny." Erhard laughs as he remembers the scene to himself.

"Master, the way he grabbed your head was funny!" Even Filo started to laugh as she was there to watch the entire scene unfold. Because of their laughs, Naofumi only groaned.

"Shut up, both of you. Anyway, I need some help, Erhard." Naofumi wanted to quickly turn the subject around so he didn't have to deal with their laughs anymore. It wasn't _that _funny anyway.

"Oh? And does it have to do with that girl that you have by your side?" He pointed to Filo as he said this.

"Yes, all I need is a couple of clothes for her. Do you have any? I'll pay you with what you think is right with them."

"Sorry, Kid, I don't have clothes for children, especially for the young girls. However, I do think it would be nice if you meet the dressmaker that works around here. She'll help with everything you need." Naofumi only clicked his tongue as he heard of the word 'she'. That only implied that the dressmaker was a _woman_.

"Alright then, thanks for the help, I guess." Before Naofumi left the room, a terrifying loud noise had been heard in the room. By the sound of it, it sounded like it was someone's stomach growling.

"Um…" Naofumi stared at Erhard with dull eyes. Seeing his face, Erhard had started to shake his hands.

"It wasn't me, Kid! It was-" Erhard stared at Filo, who was looking at the large sandwich that laid on his counter with drool coming out of her mouth. Ew.

"Are you hungry, Little Miss?" Looking at Erhard, Filo nodded her head frantically. Naofumi forgot that he hadn't gotten any food for her ever since last night.

"Alright then, go ahead, help yourself." Erhard handed Filo the huge sandwich for her to eat. Filo was truly grateful as she was happy enough to take it from his hands.

"H-hey, let me pay for it. How much did it-" Before Naofumi could get his money out, Erhard had raised his hand for him to stop talking.

"It's fine, Kid. You're one of my best customers so it's on the house. Besides, with the size of that sandwich, she'll be set for a couple of-"

*Poof*

"Yay~!" Filo, in her Filolial form, had eaten the sandwich in a single gulp.

…

…

"Oh yeah, I forgot she could do that." Naofumi said as he scratched the back of his head nervously. For Erhard...he was busy hiding beneath his desk to notice what Naofumi had said.

"Kid." Standing back up, Erhard had stared at Naofumi with straining smile.

"Yeah?"

"Go visit the dressmaker…"

"Alright." With that, Filo turned back into her human form and walked outside with Naofumi in front of her. After they exited the shop, Erhard pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I swear, the Kid likes to bring all sorts of weird things into this shop…" Erhard says to himself.

"Filo! Wait, Erhard, do you have another cloth to give Filo?!" Naofumi had came back with Filo right behind his cape of the armor that he wore.

Yup...he was going to give Erhard a hard time in his time of business…

But even still…

He smiles with welcoming arms like always…

"Sure."

* * *

"We're...here." Finding the dressmaker, Naofumi tried his best to keep a scowl under his blank face as he entered into the shop. He had heard some people conversing with one another before he entered, so it would be best to just wait for a couple of seconds.

"Oh? You are the Shield Hero, correct?" A woman's voice had ringed into Naofumi's ears as he waited at the front. This appears to be the dressmaker that Erhard was talking about earlier. To Naofumi, she looked appeared to be some plain looking girl.

Or maybe they didn't have to wait…

"Yes, I require some clothes for my partner here." Naofumi showed Filo who was standing right next to him.

"Cute~!" In a second, the dressmaker was already in front of Filo's face as she analyzed Filo's facial features.

'_Tch, another Lolicon.' _Naofumi thought to himself as he watched the dressmaker look around Filo.

"Yes, yes, right this way, you two. I have the cutest clothes to give her!" She appeared to be infatuated with anything that appears to be cute. Oh well, the quicker they have the clothes for Filo, the quicker they would be able to leave.

And so...an hour passed of Naofumi waiting inside the room that the dressmaker had assigned to the two of them. With the amount of time he waited, he was starting to get annoyed. Women usually tend to take a bit long when dressing themselves up. But this, this was ridiculous! Naofumi only hoped that the dressmaker hadn't kidnapped Filo.

"So sorry for the wait~! We had a guest that had some trouble fitting into a dress so I kind of got stuck doing that for a while. Anyway, here you go~!" Coming in from the door behind her, was Filo, who was wearing a pink dress.

"Master, do I look cute?" Filo stared at him in the eye as she wanted to know of what her master thinks of her right now.

"Don't ask me." Naofumi's cold response had made the tailor jump with surprise.

"Wrong!" She says as she points to her finger at Naofumi.

"Huh?" Naofumi stared back at her with a confused look.

"Wrong! That's not how you're supposed to treat your daughter, Father!" Naofumi's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"What are you saying? I'm not her-"

"Are you my father, Master?" Naofumi facepalmed after Filo asked him that. For something that wasn't require him much time, was going to end up being stressful to him.

"No. I am not your father. Anyway, I need clothes that can deal with her transformation. Do you have anything?" Again, Naofumi wanted to change the subject.

"Clothes for transformations, huh? Well, I'm afraid that I don't have any. But you can create some with Magic Thread!" Naofumi raised his eyebrow at that.

"Magic Thread?"

"Yes, transforming clothes are woven using thread made from the wearer's own mana. If you find some, then I'll be able to make the cutest clothes that are made right for her!" Yeah, she seems to like everything that's cute…

"Alright, do you know where I can find some of that?"

"I know a friend that can help you with that! Here, I'll write her shop's name for you to know." After writing down the shop's name, she handed the piece of paper to Naofumi.

"Alright, we'll be on our-" Before he walked out of the room, the door suddenly opened in front of his face.

"Um, excuse me, pardon my intrusion, but I kind of need this dress sewed-" As the door opened, it revealed a woman with brown hair that had raccoon ears, a raccoon tail, and was wearing a cute gray dress. In her hand, was a luggage of some sort.

With everything described, there was only one person who had those raccoon features…

"Shield...Hero…?" Raphtalia asked with widened eyes.

"Great, just what I need at the perfect time…"


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/N)**

**Um… I didn't expect this story to get a bit popular. It might seem terrible, but I'm trying my best to make this a bit different and similar to the anime and manga. Some things might need to be skipped so I don't stress myself on writing one scene, and focus on creating new and different scenes that we might not see in the anime. Don't worry about the small crossover aspect, I've already decided on not to. **

**Everyone… please enjoy.**

"Filo, since we're going to have to wait for your clothes, we're to make some money. Any objections?" As Naofumi held onto the reins that were around Filo, she lead the carriage into our next destination. Which was… he didn't know. Hopefully, he could find a village where he could exchange some goods that he had gotten from the people of Riyute Village he helped with that stupid race. After leaving Riyute Village, after everything cooled and settled down, he went back to the village in hopes of a reward. Instead of requesting money, he was given a carriage that was filled with goods, and a pass for when he enters any village.

"No, Master! Everything's A-okay!" In her big Filolial form, she was happy enough to pull the carriage. Filo was the one who actually wanted the carriage since he couldn't think of anything at the top of his head when he was asked for a reward in Riyute Village. While it was going to be a problem to watch over it, he looked at the bright side of things: it's more easier to travel with goods for trading.

"Now, why are you still here?" Looking into the carriage, Naofumi could see a familiar Demi-Human that he did not trust.

Raphtalia…

"...I wanted to help, Lord Naofumi." Ever since the meeting in the dressmaker's shop, he already didn't trust her. He found it too suspicious that he kept encountering the Demi-Human. It was like he was _fated _to continue encountering her. Fate was such a belief that he hated. After all, he was fated to be the Shield Hero, right? And look at where it's brought him.

"Help? You NOW want to help me? That's a funny joke. Tell me, did that damn idiot, Motoyasu put you up to this? Are you here because you want to spy on me? Get some information as to where I'm going so you can somehow contact him and jump me? What kind of reward did he say that he will give you? Money? Fame? Or perhaps… a 'night with him'?"

Raphtalia flinched with every sign of suspicion he had of her. From their last encounter, she hated him to the core because of how disrespectful he was to her. Did it matter to him? No. Because she was a woman, he didn't care what kind of feelings she felt that day. If he dared to let his guard down, then she will surely take advantage of him. He could never allow himself to do that.

"...I'm not doing this for any reward, Lord Naofumi." That caused him to let out a sort of dark chuckle.

"No reward, you say? Yeah, right. This wouldn't be the first time I heard something like from a woman before." Raphtalia immediately reacted to that.

"Then allow me to show how different I am to those women! I won't be as I was before, so please let be of use to you! And… I'm not with the Spear Hero anymore!" Naofumi could only grit his teeth in annoyance.

'_What was with the sudden change of heart?! Why does she NOW want to do this?! And what did she mean that she's not with that spear prick anymore?! No, she's only saying that to lower your guard, Naofumi. This is a woman and you should know by now how women act. They'll only lie to get whatever they want from you…'_ Naofumi could only think of these things because he was suspicious of her.

"...Drop that 'lord' crap. Hearing it from you, it only sickens me. Your one and only lord is that spear prick. I don't know why you had a sudden change of heart but If you want to prove yourself useful to me, then show me how far you're willing to do be of use to me. Otherwise… get the hell out of here."

'_Was he… giving me a chance? After… everything I've said to him, he's giving me a chance?' _That was all Raphtalia could think about as she was starting to get a chance from Naofumi. He didn't know why either, but he had a feeling that he was going to need help other than Filo eventually. As Filo was more than enough to handle some monsters, but she's still just a child. For her to just charge in randomly without thinking could be a problem that he needs to fix with her.

'_If I remember correctly, that woman is capable of using a sword well. With her and-wait, why am I even thinking about this?' _"However, I won't be as keen as to drop my guard around you. You're just a woman and you should know your place. Whatever you want from me, you won't get it. Now, it's either you go on home and run back to Motoyasu before I start to get-"

"Master~! I see someone ahead of us~!" Deciding to see what Filo was talking about, Naofumi decided to forget the presence of Raphtalia and turned straight. Raphtalia could only look to the bottom of the carriage as she was initially sad for the things the Shield Hero had said to her. Did he really think that she was a plaything for Motoyasu? She's still a virgin, just so he knows…

"A villager? What the hell is he doing out here for?" As Filo was beginning to slow down, Naofumi wanted to know why the villager seemed to be running in a panic while out of breathe. If he could do anything for him, then would do it. It's all for the sake of money, after all. He wouldn't be helping him if he wasn't it for the money anyway…

"Oi, what's the hurry?" Naofumi asked, with a tone that Raphtalia didn't like already. If he was willing to help someone out, then why speak to someone with such a rude manner?

" A… traveling merchant? P-please! You must take me to my village! It's very urgent!" The old man seemed to be in a hurry and the potion that he had in his hands seems to show that he was probably out her to get some medicine from somewhere around here. He was seen as a traveling merchant because he had equipped a shield that looks like a book. This was only for the purpose of hiding his identity, after all...

"Urgent, you say? Well, for one silver, I'll give you a ride there." The old man leaned back a bit and looked to his medicine that he had in his hands as he heard Naofumi.

"But… I spent all I had on this medicine! Isn't there something else I can give you in return?!" The old man looked desperate to request for something else to give Naofumi. With the disinterested face Naofumi had, it didn't look like he was willing to refuse his request.

"Sorry, but if have no money, then we'll be on our way…" Naofumi adjusting himself by holding the reins up again.

"You don't have to be selfish, you know?" Hearing Raphtalia's disappointed voice, he turned to look inside the carriage and at her.

"Selfish, you say? And who's fault was that made me like this? Oh yeah, it was that bitch and that trash king that made me who I am today. Oh, but of course, you won't believe that, will you? You only listened to what that spear prick told you and got fed into his lies. Now, if you don't how I run things here, then you can pack up and leave. Let's go-"

"W-wait, Sir! If you take me to the village, I'll give you something that'll be at least worth one silver! Please, Sir, you must take me back to my village!" The old man managed to cut him off with an offer that made Naofumi interested.

"Okay, then I'll give you a ride. Filo, how long will it take for you to get there as fast as you can?"

"Hmm, not THAT long! But if we leave the carriage, then we'll be able to go much faster~!" Raphtalia could only look at Naofumi with disbelief as to how fast he quickly changed his mind.

"All right, then, hop on." Disconnected the reins from Filo and the carriage, he asked the old man to get onto the back of Filo in which he happily accepted.

"Thank you, Sir!"

"Yeah, yeah, just don't forget to pay me after I'm done, all right?"

"Y-yes! Of course!" Before Filo started to move forward, she just remembered something that was REALLY important.

"Wait, Master, what about Raphtalia? Will she be okay by herself like this?" As Filo asked that, Naofumi looked back to Raphtalia with a disinterested look.

"...You wanna help and make yourself useful and stay? Stay here and make sure no one takes my stuff. Of course, I'm sure there won't be any people around here so I guess you won't be able to prove yourself, huh? Let's go, Filo. She'll be fine…" Filo gave Raphtalia a worried look, but Raphtalia gave her a sad smile and waved her goodbye.

"Okay, Master…" As sad and disappointed as she was, Filo began to run towards the village with abnormal speeds, which caused the villager to scream like a banshee…

* * *

And so, a few hours had passed and Raphtalia was bored to death…

'_How could he act like that when someones' life is at risk? Is money the only thing he could think about at that situation? Or…' _As Raphtalia thought to herself, she remembered something that Naofumi had mentioned to her that made her feel uneasy.

"_Selfish, you say? And who's fault was that made me like this? Oh yeah, it was that bitch and that trash king that made me who I am today. Oh, but of course, you won't believe that, will you? You only listened to what that spear prick told you and got fed into his lies."_

'_That's right… the Spear Hero, Motoyasu always kept telling me that the Shield Hero was a terrible person and how I shouldn't meet him because he's done a lot of bad things in the world while I was brainwashed. Even after I was brainwashed… I still wanted to meet the Shield Hero because of Rifana-chan. Even if I didn't remember her, in my heart, I made a promise that I shouldn't forget. I wonder… what was Naofumi like before his… accusations happened? Was he kind? Believing in the Spear Hero's lies was the worst mistake of my life. He couldn't have been like this before coming here… it was the kingdom who did this to him...' _Raphtalia could only look back to her luggage as she remembered something Fu-chan had told her before…

_"Heroes never fight alone, Raphtalia-chan. They need help if they want to survive. After all, everyone is a living being. Human or Demi-Human, they want to survive if they could ever dream of something in their grasp."_

_"If there's something bothering you, it's best if you could speak to someone. No one should allow themselves to live with turmoil."_

Those were the words that continued to play in her mind as she remembered them well. Raphtalia knew that Naofumi didn't want nothing to do with her. However, back at Lute Village, he was willing to warn her of the dangers of being by Motoyasu's side if she continued to align herself with the kingdom. So that HAS to mean something, right? He cared about her safety, right? Because he's seen things that Raphtalia hadn't seen, that he wanted to protect her, right?

_'That foolish Spear Hero decided on taking a Demi-Human has a partner. What a foolish decision. Make sure she doesn't remember anything from that wretched place. We don't want her to go... turning her back on us, do we?' _Raphtalia gritted her teeth as she remembered the memories that had been locked by the forces of magic.

_'Raphtalia-chan… I wanna go home…' _"Rifana-chan…"

_'Raphtalia-chan, do you think the Shield Hero will come to save us?' _Raphtalia could only pretend that she was holding onto Rifana as she cried silently. This was a time when they had been locked away from the world…

'_I want to meet him… and have him make me his wife…' _

"Liars!" Raphtalia could slam her fist on the bench of the carriage. She had been lied to, making them look like they were the good people, only for her to realize that they were corruption itself. They brainwashed her, making her forget her past and only look towards the future. She had questioned the past to herself, but she couldn't find the heart to find an answer. Was it because she was afraid of her past? Yes. Not only that… but everyone besides the other Heroes had looked at her with… disgust. They didn't want her there… and she now knows the reason for it…

Because she was a Demi-Human…

"Rifana-chan… Keel-kun… where are you? Are you two… still within _that _man's grasp? I'm… I'm sorry for leaving you two…" Raphtalia could only silently cry to herself as she knew how powerless she was. She couldn't go to them because she doesn't know where they were located. She managed to escape while they were about to be relocated, but she doesn't remember where she came from.

_He… lost everything because of them, right? Because of these… people, right? Just like me… he lost everything to them. They… destroyed my home… took me and my friends to be enslaved… and brainwashed me! They… they were liars! How… could they?! These people… when I fought and fought and saved them from the terrors of monsters and the second Wave… they were actually like this! Slavery… liars… the king... this kingdom! I suffered before because of… those two men! Not only me… but Demi-Humans alike as well!' _Before Raphtalia could finish her thoughts, she heard footsteps approaching the carriage…

"Look, boys! We found ourselves a nice looking carriage for keeps! I wonder what's inside!" By the sounds of it, it appears to be 4 men coming towards her. Stepping out of the carriage, she had her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Woah-oh, boys! Ain't she a beauty even though she's a Demi-Human?!" All four of them had looks of lust as they slowly approached her.

"Now, miss, if you want to have a good time, then I think it's best if you stand away from the carriage. Trust me, we'll take you to a… 'safer place' than out here…" He licked his lips as he looked at her. Raphtalia could only glare at them as if they were nothing to her…

"...I suggest you all leave… unless you want to deal with the end of my blade." Her threats had meant nothing to them. They only continued to walk towards her…

"A feisty one, aren't you? Now, if YOU don't want to get hurt, then-wait, I recognize you! You're that woman who was with the Spear Hero!"

"Doesn't she have some kind of searching bounty on her head, though? Not only is the Spear Hero looking for her, but there are also people who want her as their slaves. How much do you think we'll get if we give her to one of them slave owners?!" Hearing the word 'slaves', Raphtalia slowly started to pull out her sword with seething anger. Her experience in that cell with Rifana… had managed to trigger something within her...

"But what about the Spear Hero? We could… give her to him after we had our 'share' with her…" Unknown to them, Raphtalia's sheathe for the sword was already on the floor.

"Now, then, miss, I really suggest you-"

"It seems..." Raphtalia answered, which caused them to look at her with confused looks. However, those confused looks had turned into fearful looks as she began to slowly approach them with calming anger. While her eyes seemed to look calm, but her tail was standing up straight, symbolizing that she was angry.

"W-what? You really want to fight against us? It's a four on-"

"You four will be the first…"

* * *

"Master~! I'm worried about Raphtalia~! We shouldn't have left her there~!" Filo was complaining to Naofumi as they were heading back to the carriage after helping the village out. It was only supposed to be that man's mother, but he decided on helping the entire village. If he had the chance to make more money, then that's all that mattered. However, a part of himself wanted to save the weak. He was Human, after all…

"I told you countless of times that she's going to be okay. She managed to take care of herself in the second Wave, so stop worrying! If anything, she's probably asleep because of how long we took! Look, I can see the carriage from here and nothing seems to be wrong with it. See? I told you nothing was going to happen." As Naofumi knew that there wouldn't be any bandits around, he was already sure that the carriage and Raphtalia were going to be okay.

"Master…" Instead of the usual cheery voice Filo has, her voice was that of worry. Noticing this, he raised an eyebrow to her.

"What? What's the matter, Filo?" As they were slowly approaching the carriage, Filo's face began to look gruesome.

"Something smells bad… and it smells fresh, too…" Filo began to slow down a little as she picked up on a smell that was close to the carriage.

"Huh? What smell are you-hrk! What the hell is that?!" As Naofumi pinched his nose, he smelled something terrible. Looking around, there wasn't anything around him, so… was it up ahead? Stopping in front of the carriage, the smell was starting to become stronger…

"Stay here, Filo. I'll go check it out." As Naofumi didn't want Filo to see something that could possibly gruesome, he told her to stay there. It didn't matter if Filo was actually a bird, she was still a child. Seeing something gruesome could possibly trigger some traumatic experiences… but that might not be the case if she would just kill anything in her way. Regardless, Naofumi still saw her as a child and even he had standards...

"Raphtalia? Are you-"

"Oh, you've returned Lord Naofumi!" Coming from behind the carriage, with her eyes closed, she smiled as if there was nothing wrong.

'_She seems to be okay, so I guess we-wait… is that blood on her sword and dress?' _Noticing some blood on her sword and dress, he wanted to question what happened here. "Raphtalia… did something-"

"Oh, it's nothing important! Just some… troubles with the cart is all! However, I just wanted to know… was I of use to you?" While she did hold a smile, it wasn't maniacal. It was actually a smile that wanted to know if she was of use to him. Looking down at the bottom of the carriage, was a hand that was trickling blood from its body. Raphtalia noticed him staring at it and kicked the hand off to the side where he couldn't see it.

"Y-yeah… you… helped a lot. Thanks…" As Naofumi was a bit scared of her he took a step back a bit. He actually felt… threatened for his life there. '_Did… bandits actually come here? Did she… kill them without any hesitation? But… why? Isn't just tying them up and reporting them to the locals better?! Did they… do something to her? She's… she's different, now!' _Naofumi WOULD feel sick to his stomach, but his Perfect Balance ability that won't allow him to feel nauseous wouldn't allow it.

"That's great! Then… that means I get to come with you on your journey, right?" Naofumi knew that bringing her along would just be a problem, but… he couldn't do that. Something about her felt… different. She proved herself to be useful to him, so he SHOUlD hold up to his promise and allow her to stay with him. Hopefully, she didn't plan on stabbing him in the back… literally.

"Yeah… you can come with. You're… not going to stab me in the back-"

"Lord Naofumi." When Raphtalia called him out like that, Naofumi could only start to sweat.

"Y-yeah…?" As Raphtalia opened her eyes, Naofumi could tell that keeping Raphtalia close would be risky…

Dull and lifeless…

"I appreciate it being added to your party! However… I have a request. Would you be so nice to accept it?" Her smile was genuine, but her eyes were not matching with it. It was starting to make Naofumi feel a bit more creeped out by her.

"And… what is the request?"

"When we… get stronger, Lord Naofumi… I will only ask of you to kill two people: the man who enslaved me before… and the king of Melromarc." With widened eyes, he was already ready to decline the offer.

"What?! I might understand the enslaved part, but not the king! You CANNOT kill the king in any-"

"Lord Naofumi, because of him… Demi-Humans are continuing to be enslaved… because of him… he destroyed my home… because of him… you suffered this much. You don't want to continue to suffer, right? Then, in the future, we should just-" Naofumi grabbed her shoulders and looked at her with a glare.

"Look, now is NOT the time to go crazy on me! I understand that you were in enslaved by some weirdo, but that doesn't mean you should go around saying things that the king should die and all that! I… hate him as much as you, but I can't just kill the king! Yeah, he should just die for all I care, but it shouldn't be by my hands! I'm supposed to be… a stupid Hero, not a murderer! That'll only make it worse for me! I'll just be hunted like a mad dog! Do you really want to end like that?!" Raphtalia's eyes were starting to retain some color as if she was snapping out of her trance.

"I-I'm sorry. I… don't know what came over me. It… won't happen again, okay? Just… don't leave me here where I could be found by Motoyasu or any slave owners… please." Snapping out of her thoughts, she dropped her sword and hugged Naofumi.

'_...What the hell happened to her? She was enslaved, right? Then… how the hell did she end up with Motoyasu? And more importantly… how many other Demi-Humans could be suffering in slavery? Other than the slave merchant who basically sells slaves, is there some kind of place that holds Demi-Humans?' _"Look, you can stay with me, but don't slack off, all right?! And no killing, either! If I see this again, then I'm kicking you out my party, you hear me?!"

"Yes! Thank you very much, Lord Naofumi!" As she was crying, she hugged Naofumi tighter as she was happy that she was able to join his journey.

"Okay, okay! Let's just… hide the bodies and be on our way, all right? I don't want to know why you killed them…" As Naofumi managed to pry Raphtalia off of him, he stood there with his arms crossed.

"Yes, Lord Naofumi!" Raphtalia happily went to the back of the carriage and began to… hide the bodies…

'_What the hell happened to her? Even though she killed someone… she doesn't even care about it? How much has she suffered to not even care about the people that she just killed?! Well, I don't care about the people in this world, but I wouldn't just kill them! Raphtalia… what did the kingdom do to you that made you like this…?'_

* * *

"Lord Naofumi, what are you and Filo doing?" Managing to find an inn to stay in, Naofumi and Filo had the chance to read the magic grimoire that he had gotten from that old magic lady. Not only that, because Raphtalia had a luggage of clothes, she was able to change into a more clean dress to wear. Noticing this, Raphtalia wanted to know what they were reading.

"Huh? Oh, we're reading a magic grimoire to learn some spells…" Naofumi said without taking his eyes away from the book. Filo was on his back with her hands wrapped around his neck as she was reading the grimoire.

"Magic grimoire? You mean you-sorry, I shouldn't have said anything!" Raphtalia blushed in embarrassment as she realized that Naofumi wasn't treated as kind as the other Heroes in the kingdom.

"...Yeah, well don't worry about it. You didn't know so I don't care. Just get some rest and leave me alone…" Naofumi still wouldn't bring his attention away from the book as he told her off. Raphtalia could only look saddened as he said that.

"But… I was hoping to speak to you. I… just wanted to ask something of you. It's… a personal question." Moving away from the doorframe where she was standing at, she started to walk towards the two.

"There's nothing you need to know about me. Just go to bed…"

"But… I want to talk! Please, Lord Naofumi, can we please just talk?" Raphtalia seemed desperate to talk about something personal about him. Sighing, he closed the magic grimoire.

"...Filo, go to bed. I gotta speak to Raphtalia for a second…"

"But I want to talk, too! Why can't I-"

"Filo… go to bed. Don't make me use the crest to make you obey me…" As much Naofumi didn't want to use it, he had to threaten her to get his way. Pouting, Filo left the room…

"Okay, so what do you want to talk about? And it better be something that won't waste my time…" Pulling his attention to Raphtalia, he looked at her with a cold look.

"It's… just that I wanted to know how your life was before… everything happened. Before you were summoned here, what was your life like?" Raphtalia wanted to know if he was always like this because she was simply curious. If she could learn something of his past, then it will basically tell her if he was kind or not.

"...Go to bed." Opening the magic grimoire again, he looked for the page he left off. Noticing this, Raphtalia could only looked at him with a shocked look.

"H-hey! Aren't you going to answer?!" This might be her one and only chance to know how he was like before everything so she could know if he was always like this. Like Fu-chan said, no one should leave themselves to their own turmoil…

"I told you that if it was going to waste my time, then I won't answer. You don't need to know about my previous life before this. All you need to know is that you're under my care and I can kick you out whenever I want. Now go to bed." However… even with his cold and harsh tone, Raphtalia didn't move.

"...Then could you tell me why it took you so long to come back to the carriage?" Hearing her new spiked curiosity, Naofumi lowered the book to his lap.

"...Because there were other people that were sick in the village. If you think about it, the more people I save from their sickness, the more money I can get." Raphtalia would initially be disappointed for his way of thinking, but she couldn't.

'_Because he had nothing, he has to try everything he can to earn money. That's sad for a Hero to be living like this. The other Heroes were in the kingdom with no problem, so why should the Shield Hero live like this?! Why did the princess and the king treated him like this?' _"I'm… sorry for every rude thing I've said to you. I was… on the wrong side if you should say at least. Thank you for making that medicine for me, thank you for giving me that warning in Lute Village, and thank you for allowing me to stay with you…"

"...Yeah, well I don't care what you say. Just don't hinder my work and you can continue to stay with me." Raphtalia could only smile as she knew that his words were all but a ruse to her…

Besides…

" You didn't really save those people for money, did you, Lord Naofumi? I feel that even if you want money… you wanted to save them because you wanted to. And… you don't seem as bad as everyone seems to say you are, Lord Naofumi. You're… actually a kind person. At least… that's what I think. Good night, Lord Naofumi…" After saying that, Raphtalia left the room to go to hers.

Naofumi could only stare at the ceiling and not at his book, which was still open for him to read…

'_Kind, huh?' _Naofumi could only think of that word as he continued to look up at the ceiling. Eventually, he fell asleep without continuing reading the magic grimoire…

**(A/N) **

**Sorry for the bit of OOC Raphtalia here, and previous chapters. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It might be a bit… terrible as long as you all want to continue to support it, then I guess I can continue it. Thank you all for showing your support for this neglecting story, it made me want to come back to it. **


	6. Chapter 6

'_It's gone! My stuff! They're all gone! The silver, the chainmail, everything is gone!' _

'_********__, open up! Our money and equipment been stolen! Open up!' _

'_**The Shield Hero forced his way into my room and he was stinking drunk! He… grabbed me and pinned me down onto the bed!' **_

'_**You animal!' **_

'_**We shouldn't have summoned the Shield Hero at all!' **_

'_**Scum!' **_

'_Disgusting… they all nothing but __**disgusting trash!' **_

"Damn them all to hell! Huh?" Upon waking up, Naofumi Iwatani yells to the ceiling. As it was just a nightmare, it actually wasn't. This was actually the memories that he was forced to burned within his mind forever. '_Looks like it still isn't a dream…'_ Naofumi could only groan as it was finally morning. Everyday, Naofumi awakes in this cruel world, remembering that he was the Shield Hero. This life-styles wasn't supposed to happen to him. He was supposed to be a Hero, the Hero of the Shield that is. And the Shield Hero was nothing but wasted potential in everyone's eyes as they didn't see him worthy of their utmost attention. Instead, they would only care about the Sword, Bow, and Spear Hero, completely disregarding the entire existence of Naofumi Iwatani, the Shield Hero.

'_Fast Guard, and Fast Heal… they will be useful in the future…' _During his attempts to read the magic grimoire after translating SOME of the language, he managed to find at least two magic spells that would go along his magic affinity, which was support and healing. Of course, he expected this because nearly everything in his shield upgrades were all about support in some way. He was able to make potions, after all…

*Knock* *Knock* "Lord Naofumi, are you awake?" Hearing Raphtalia's voice had made him a bit uneasy. Not as if he was ill, but as in… worried. Naofumi shouldn't be worried over a woman as they were basically nothing but a nuisance to him, but Raphtalia is… how he should say 'something else.' Yes, she was a woman, but she was also a Demi-Human, a being that was fated to be enslaved by others…

"...Yeah, I'm up." Naofumi gritted his teeth as he responded to her. Naofumi had no reason to trust her; she acted almost like the princess when they first met. Calm, kind, and worried about his well-being. He couldn't tell for how long Raphtalia was going to keep up that facade, but it was starting to worry him a bit. Behind that facade was a Dem-Human that was ready to kill. She did it yesterday and who knows when she'll do it again?

"May I… come in?" Raphtalia asked to come inside, which only caused Naofumi to stand up quickly. He shouldn't trust her; she might be plotting something while they'll be alone, so Naofumi doesn't want to take the risk.

"N-no, I'm fine! Just stay out, all right?!" Naofumi had a lot of trust issues with women. Because of the princess, the life a Hero, the so-called Shield Hero, had been ruined. And for what? For what reason did he have to deal with this kind of treatment when they asked him to save their world?! If this kingdom didn't have the Shield Hero, then they will be ruined to the ground! However… Naofumi couldn't take the risk of leaving innocent lives here when the Waves hit again. Something about just leaving them to die didn't settle in his stomach. He hates them, right? He shouldn't be feeling some kind of sympathy towards the sick. He would only use their sickness as an advantage to earn money… that was one of the only things he could do to earn money….

"O-okay, Lord Naofumi... I'll be… waiting outside with Filo, then…" Naofumi didn't want to risk having Raphtalia with Filo together, but he's sure that Filo can protect herself.

"...All right then…" Naofumi couldn't say anything after that. He shouldn't say anything after that. However, as Naofumi expected to hear footsteps walk away from his door, but nothing was heard. That only means that Raphtalia hadn't left his door. "Hey, what are still doing here? I thought you said that you-"

"Lord Naofumi… I have some things that I want to talk to you about. And… this information can only go between us…" Naofumi stared at the door with a glare.

'_...Should I let her inside? If this was information that needs to be discussed between us two, then should I let her in? But… what if she's lying to just get inside?' _"Come inside and don't move away from the door, you understand?" Naofumi had no choice but to let her in. If this was important information for only them two to hear, then he should at least hear her out… for now.

"Thank you, Lord Naofumi…" Opening the door to reveal Raphtalia wearing a long red and black battle skirt. After opening the door, she closed it and leaned back on it. This could only show that she was a bit nervous to speak with him…

"Now, what is it? It's not going to waste my time again, right? We have to hurry and head out to earn some more money." Raphtalia's ears flatten on her head as she was a bit disappointed at something.

"...Right. Lord Naofumi… those… people from yesterday… they recognized me. Because I was… with the Spear Hero before, some people know me for being by his side. And… if they know me and tell the Spear Hero my location… it might lead to some problems…" Raphtalia intentionally didn't want to include the part that she was part of a bounty because she knew that Naofumi wouldn't hesitate to try to sell her. If she wanted to continue to stay with him, then she mustn't tell him about it. Naofumi could only cross his legs as he listened to her.

'_...That would only lead to problems with me and that prick again. Damnit, why the hell did I agree to take her with me? Because of her, I'm going to have to make sure I'm on my toes so she doesn't get found!' _"...I knew having you around would lead to some problems. Fine, here, cut this with your sword and use it as a hood. That way, people won't recognize you from afar…" Taking off the sheets from the bed, he handed it to her so she could use it as a hood. It was something at least…

"...Thank you, Lord Naofumi. And… before I go… good morning, Lord Naofumi…" With that, she opened the door and was about to leave, but something about Naofumi's face made her want to stay…

He looked confused…

"Lord Naofumi, is everything all right?" Raphtalia was concerned why he was making that face after hearing 'good morning', so she decided to ask him why he was making that face.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. And… good morning…" Without saying anything else, he walked to the window and started to stare out of it.

'_Good morning, huh? When… was the last time I heard that from someone?'_ Naofumi didn't notice it, but Raphtalia was still there and staring at him.

'_Is he… not used to saying that? How far has he fallen that he doesn't even want to say a simple greeting?' _Raphtalia could think to herself as she didn't want to annoy him by asking why he reacted so strangely to the greeting. If Raphtalia could get closer to him… then maybe… he won't be as bad as he is right now.

All it took was time…

* * *

And so, a few days had passed. During those days, Naofumi had always made sure to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't try anything funny. Earning money from medicine and selling food had helped him get a few silver coins. For some reason, Raphtalia hadn't been as talkative as he thought she would be. However, when they sell food and medicine, she smiles. Naofumi couldn't figure out why she would smile like that, but he chose to forget about it. It didn't matter in the long end of things, anyway…

"I can't believe I'm riding with Our Savior of the Heavenly Fowl! This is an experience that I shall truly never forget!" As Naofumi was holding the reins on Filo, he overheard what he said to Raphtalia, who still wore the sheets over her head as a hood. As long as he, or anyone else is unable to see her face, then it's good for him. Not only her, but he's trying to hide his identity as well. Having the Book Shield equipped, he didn't have to worry about people knowing that he's the Shield Hero as he looks like a traveling merchant.

"'Our Savior of the Heavenly Fowl?' What's that supposed to mean?" Naofumi asked as he was a bit curious as to what the accessory merchant he had decided to bring along with him.

"You've become quite famous, haven't you? It first started as a rumor, but then, the rumor started to spread throughout other villages, making the rumor to be true! Your bird that is the god of domesticated birds has helped you travel with special medicine that is able to treat the sick!" Naofumi could only sigh as he heard what that title meant.

"Isn't that great, Lord Naofumi? You're being recognized as everyone's savior; isn't that great to hear?" As Naofumi turned to look at her, he hardened his look at her, which caused her to feel uneasy.

"...What's it to you? I didn't ask to be anyone's savior. I'm just doing this for the sake of money; who cares about the people being sick…"

"But-"

"I don't know why my recognition concerns you, but I suggest you drop it. I don't know what you see in me, but it doesn't matter. I'm the… a merchant who's doing what he can to earn some money. That's all you need to know, got it?" Raphtalia had went quiet after saying that.

"...I'm sorry. I see you as someone kind, yet filled with hatred. That's all I need you to know…" Without saying anything else, Raphtalia closed her eyes. The accessory merchant only looked at her because he didn't know who was under the hood that Raphtalia wore.

"..." Naofumi couldn't say anything. Even though Raphtalia was a bit right about him, he chose to feed into her 'lies'. Naofumi Iwatani was the Shield Hero, hated by all, and he has no other choice but to accept it. If the world chooses to hate him, then so be it. He was going to do whatever he could to back to his home...

"Master, am I a god?" Filo believed what the man had said, which made her think that she was some kind of god.

"Filo, I told you to not speak when they're people with us, correct?"

"Ah! I'm sorry, Master!" As she didn't want to go against Naofumi's rules, she accidentally spoke a little too loud…

"She can even speak?! That's the god of domesticated birds, for you!" The accessory merchant was amazed to know that Filo could speak. Unlike other Filolial, Filo had the ability to transform into a Human and a Filolial at will. Of course, the merchant didn't know this, but since this was his first time hearing a Filolial speak, it was kind of hard to not believe that she was a god.

"She's not a god, all right? Just drop it already." Naofumi didn't really want anyone to find our that Filo could speak. If they know about how rare she was, then they would try their hardest to get her. But of course, since Naofumi is the owner of Filo, he isn't going to give up without a fight.

'_Now that I think about it, should I put a crest on Raphtalia? It's a safety precaution if she ever tries to run away from me and give out my location, but… should I? A few days ago, when she… murdered those men, she said something about her being in slavery. If I tie two and two together, then those men that she had encountered must've had the thought of putting her into slavery again. And not only that, but she's willing to find the man who first enslaved her and kill him. And… even kill the king, too. If we encounter him again… what will she do to him? Kill him? But if she does that, then we both are going to be hunted down. I just have to make sure she doesn't kill anyone else so she doesn't have those thoughts again… why am I even caring about her to begin with, anyway?'_ Looking into the carriage at Raphtalia, she was quiet and sitting still.

"Master, there are people up ahead! And they look really angry!" As Naofumi looked in front of him, he could see a gang of members waited there for him with sly smirks.

"Hold it! Stop right there!" A bald bandit who stood in front of his group had made Filo stop right where she was going. "Strange-looking bird you have there, don't you? We heard that an accessory seller was hitching a ride with you! Now, if it would be so kind of him to step on out, then we won't have any problems, ya hear?" The accessory merchant was quick to hide himself from being seen.

'_Client with baggage, huh?' _Looking into the carriage, Naofumi could see that the merchant was hiding away so he couldn't be seen. Noticing this, Naofumi could only click his tongue…

"Lord Naofumi, let me handle these nuisances…" Raphtalia's hand was already on her sword's hilt as she was about to exit the carriage.

"No, if anything, I don't want you fighting these people. Just stay hidden and do as you're told, all right?" Naofumi was already worried that she might have the intention of killing these men. He didn't want to risk her having to want to kill anyone that might stand in their way, so he had to make sure she doesn't face any Humans.

"But I can-"

"Do as you're told, Raphtalia. Or do you want me to kick you out of my party…?" Threatening her, Raphtalia could only show a grim look as she wanted to go outside and handle them. If threatening her to leave her behind was the only way to calm her down, then he's going to have to continue doing so…

"Was that a woman's voice I heard? Well, listen here boys, we might be able to earn some money AND have some fun tonight!" As his men began to laugh, Naofumi could only glare at them.

'_Tch, of course people around here will act like this. If we're going to keep dealing with idiots like them, then I don't know how long I can stop Raphtalia from snapping off at them. Looks like I'm going to have to put a crest on-' _

"Grrrr…" What seems to be a growl of some sort, had caused Naofumi to snap out of his thoughts. Looking back at Raphtalia, she looked ready enough to attack them. With her fangs from her mouth starting to show, she looked as if she was going to snap at any second.

'_Yeah, I might have to put the crest on her. Well, first, we're going to have to get out of this situation...' _"Filo!" Naofumi called out Filo's name as he thought of a plan to escape them. If they lingered here any longer, then Raphtalia was going to attack them without a calm mind.

"Yes, Master?" Turning to look back at Naofumi, she looked ready as if she was ready to attack them as well. Filo was overly attached to Raphtalia, so hearing them say such words were starting to anger Filo.

"Run them over! We're going straight past them!" Hearing Naofumi's orders, the gang of bandits were taken off-guard.

"W-what did he say?!"

"L-look pal, if you value your life, then step out of the carriage! It's us against you! And we even have someone that recently had a class-upgrade!"

'_Class-upgrade? What the hell is that? Nevermind that, we have to get going!' _"Well, if you value YOUR life, then stand out of my way! Filo, let's go!"

"Yes, Master~!" With that, Filo started to head towards them with the intention of running them over to get passed them. Even though they had that many people on their side, they moved out of the way so they won't get run over by Filo.

"W-well done! I didn't think that we weren't going to get passed them like that! You certainly have my gratitude!" Seeing that they were running away from the bandits, the accessory merchant stood back up.

"Yeah? Well it's going to be a lot more than words to repay me for the trouble you've caused me!" Naofumi looked back to Raphtalia, who seemed to have calmed down a bit.

"O-of course! I'll pay you back with all the knowledge and information I have!" The accessory merchant had gotten quiet after saying that.

"Lord Naofumi… I'm sorry that I-"

"If you're sorry, then just stay quiet for now. We're going to have a talk after everything is done, you hear me?" Naofumi looked back to glare at her, which made her flinch a little.

"...Yes, Lord Naofumi. And… I'm sorry for the inconvenience but… I'm starting to feel a little sick because of the carriage, Lord Naofumi…"

* * *

Naofumi could only sigh as this was going to be a long day…

"Here, drink it up…" Naofumi handed Raphtalia medicine for her to drink so she didn't need to deal with the motion sickness she had earlier. After helping the accessory merchant get to where he needed to be, the accessory merchant gave him some knowledge of gemstones and with that knowledge, Naofumi was able to learn how to create his own gemstones. With that, he found another way of earning some money...

"You… made this for me? You didn't need to do this, Lord Naofumi." Raphtalia took the medicine from his hands as she laid down onto the bed and began to drink the contents within it.

"Yeah? Well, I wanted to because I don't need you to be slacking off because of your motion sickness. Remember that if I notice that you're slowing me down too much, then I'm kicking you out of my party." Naofumi sat on a chair away from Raphtalia after he gave her the medicine.

"Is that...so? Lord Naofumi… you're here because you wanted to know why I responded that way, right?" Naofumi could only nod his head at her.

'_Tch, what am I even doing here? I shouldn't be concerned about her, but… if this continues, then she's going to randomly anyone she doesn't like. Would talking about this manner even work? I know that she was enslaved and had her village destroyed because of the kingdom… but is there more to it?' _Naofumi thought as he prepared himself to wait for her story.

"Lord Naofumi… not long ago, I lived in a village called Rurorona Village. The village wasn't too far from the kingdom, but it was close to it. We didn't have that many connections with Humans, either. I… had a normal life back there. I had friends like Rifana-chan and Keel-kun… I had the best memories shared with them. Kicking a ball and playing tag, they were all fond memories to me. Keel-Kun always wanted to beat me in a race, but I will always win. Rifana-chan, my best friend who's always more girly than me… always talked to me about relationships. While I wasn't the outgoing types all of the time, but I still decided on playing with my friends. But before… everything happened, the First Wave struck my village…"

Hearing that was a bit of a shock to Naofumi. He had heard of the First Wave from the time he was summoned here, but they hadn't told him where it hit. '_Why wouldn't they even tell us, the Heroes where the first Wave hit? Yes, it could be forgotten easily with the fact that we shouldn't be dealing with the past events, _

"It was… a normal day like always… before the sky turned red. All of my friends were afraid of what the red sky would have meant, but Keel-kun was the one who wanted to find out what it was that was happening. I was able to stop her, but we had to go back to our homes to find out what was going on. In the sky, there was monsters dropping out and onto the grounds of my village, attacking anyone they saw. We… were over-run so… instead of fighting, we had to evacuate. The ocean was the only place we had to escape but… there was this… three-headed monster that… killed everyone in its sight!" Raphtalia started to shake a bit as she was remembering everything that had happened to her in the first Wave. Naofumi noticed this, but he chose to not do anything…

"Many got killed in the ocean because of the waves being too strong… and some were killed because of the monsters of the Wave. My mother, father and I were only backed against the corner by the three-headed monster as we were inches away from falling into the ocean. I… remember my mother saying "never forget to smile", while my father said "if you smile… everyone smiles". That… was the last thing my parents told me as my mother pushed me off the ledge and into the water. I managed to keep my head above the water… but I couldn't see what happened to my mother and father… there was only blood at the ledge. When I… came back to shore… the Wave had already ended." Naofumi noticed something that wasn't included in her experience in the Waves.

"Look… I'm sorry that you lost your parents, but wait, about the soldiers from the kingdom? The king said that soldiers from the kingdom had fought and managed to win the Wave but why weren't they-wait..." Finally realizing something, Naofumi's look hardened. It wasn't rage directed at Raphtalia, but it was… to what he realized. "They… didn't care to send soldiers to your hometown for protection, right?"

"...Right. We were only Demi-Humans, Lord Naofumi. They only see Demi-Humans as… slaves. But… back to my story, when I managed to make it back to my village, I noticed that there were only a few survivors left… Rifana-chan and Keel-kun included. When I went back to where… I last saw my parents, all I was able to see was the dead and soulless corpse of the three-headed beast. The reinforcements were… able to kill the monster… but my mother and father were… dead. A… few days after that, I… decided to run the village as I believed that my mother and father entrusted the lives of the remaining Demi-Humans to me. Like my parents told me before, if I smiled, then everyone smiled. Even though I was a child, I still decided to push on past the sadness of loss and smiled. Because… if I smiled… then everyone smiled. Some asked me why would I continue to smile even though I lost my parents… but I always answered by saying that "they're watching over us. If I showed my sadness, then they would surely be disappointed in me. And for that, I must continue to smile". Deep down… I was sad. Sad that I lost everything, sad that I lost my parents and sad… that this was the fate of Demi-Humans."

"..." Naofumi started to clench the bar of the chair that he sat in. Something about "the fate of Demi-Humans" managed to piss him off. '_Fated to die? Fated to experience loss? Fated to be sad? What kind of fate is that to begin with?!' _

"I… remember this flag that was over the village as I would see that as a sign of our hope. A hope that was meant for everyone to rely on, no matter what will happen to us, a hope that even if we were in sadness, we would still continue forward. But… that hope was a lie. Because… soon after… soldiers that were sent to protect us had came to our village to kill the men and enslave the women and children. I… hadn't escaped as I was forced into slavery. I… had three slave owners, the first two had sold me back to a slave merchant… but the last one was the worst. I didn't know this, but Rifana-chan was already there so I was a bit happy that I had my best friend back with me… but it didn't matter. It never did matter if my friend was back with me. Everyday, me, Rifana-chan and every Demi-Human there was chained to the ceiling and… whipped. I… kept taking the whip again and again and again and again and again and again and again, until… I couldn't handle it anymore."

"It must've been… hard for you, hasn't it?" Naofumi couldn't find any comforting words to say to her. It's been so long since he comforted someone, that he couldn't find the exact words to say to her. He couldn't feel hatred to Raphtalia… he could only feel sympathy.

"...Even if it was still hard for me, I continued to smile. For each whip that bruised my body, I smiled. I couldn't show sadness anymore… I could only smile because… I had to smile. When the slave owner noticed this, he used the power of the crest to shock me. But… I continued to smile. I was… crazy, wasn't I? Smiling while in pain, I was insane, wasn't I? But even then, I still smiled. Eventually… Rifana-chan got sick and she… died. I was a child back then, so I couldn't understand why we were forced to go through this. Through this fate, through this pain, through this… sadness. Until… I finally figured it out. All it took was more beatings and the vision of my village destroyed, that I finally figured out why we were forced into this…" She stopped to look at Naofumi for a second.

...And she smiled…

"It's because it's for entertainment, Lord Naofumi. Because Humans find the need to have the entertainment of watching us suffer, that we must go through pain. Not only Demi-Humans, but the Shield Hero as well. They find the pleasure of watching us suffer, Lord Naofumi. I… broke my parents with my parents and village. And because of that… my nightmares of what I had already had before started to get worse. "Die". "You're not needed anymore". They kept flowing into my head and I couldn't stop it. Eventually… that slave owner got bored of me and sent me back to the slave merchant. But… something happened to the person who was controlling the carriage I was in and it crashed. After escaping… the Spear Hero, Motoyasu found me…"

'_So that's how he found her… after escaping from the depths of slavery, Motoyasu found her and raised her in the kingdom. So… what happened next? What happened to her that made her leave from Motoyasu and the kingdom?' _

"Lord Naofumi… I don't know if you would care about this, but meeting the Spear Hero was the worst mistake of my life. Because… he was nice to me, I thought that my life as a slave would end, but… to make sure that I didn't try anything… they wiped my memories from me." Naofumi's eyes instantly widened after hearing that.

"Wiped your memories? There is even a magic spell that could do that?!" Raphtalia could only nod her head as she sadly smiled at him.

"...After my memories were wiped, it was like a fresh new start for me. Nothing of my past experiences have been remembered. Before… I didn't know why the people of the kingdom stared at me with such hatred, but I chose to ignore them… because the Spear Hero told me to ignore them. I was trained by soldiers… taught how to use magic with the Spear Hero's magic grimoire… and that was my life there. Until… one day, I had the thought of meeting the Shield Hero…" Naofumi's eyes could only widen more…

"You… wanted to meet me? What for?" Raphtalia showed Naofumi a genuine smile that made Naofumi feel a bit weird. Instead of thinking that her smile might be fake… for some reason, her smile actually felt… real.

"Because… back in my village, I remember my father telling me that the Shield Hero was a savior to the Demi-Humans. Instead of treating us like we were nothing, the Shield Hero had went out of his way to treat the Demi-Humans with care. Of course, this was before you. But… even still, I wanted to meet you. Not only me, but… Rifana-chan had said that… she wanted to marry the Shield Hero. Even in her last breathe, she wanted to meet the Shield Hero and have him… make her his wife…" Naofumi couldn't say anything.

'_A previous Shield Hero cared about the Demi-Humans? But… why? Did he experience the same fate as me? Betrayed and left with nothing? Did he… go to the Demi-Humans because he didn't trust Humans? Now that I think about it, do I really hate all of the people from this world? Demi-Humans… were not the slightest bit concerned about my status because they were enslaved. Because of… Humans they were treated like nothing… just like me. If given the chance… would the Demi-Humans hate me like Humans? And most importantly... how did he die? If I'm the Shield Hero now, then that must mean that he's dead...' _

"And so… I promised her that we'll be able to meet him one day. But… she never had the chance because she was sick. Because she wasn't treated with medicine… she died there. But… before she would leave me in that next morning, she wanted me to promise her that if she couldn't meet the Shield Hero… then I will. I thought she wasn't being serious, but… she was gone. As my memories were put away, my heart never forgot my promise to her. And so… when we first met… of course I didn't know you. You were only someone fighting the second Wave with only just a shield. You were snarky and rude when I first met you, but even then, you wanted to protect the villagers from Lute Village. After that… you saved my life. Because I caught the same sickness Rifana had, there were some things that I couldn't do. Even being trained by the soldiers was a struggle. Motoyasu first noticed the sickness, and he wanted medicine for me, but everything they gave me wasn't helping. Until… you showed up, Lord Naofumi. If you hadn't given me that medicine that day, then I was sure that I was going to die one day."

"..." Naofumi still couldn't say anything to her. He couldn't figure out why he did it for her, but deep down, he wanted to make it for her. Because she helped him during the second Wave, he wanted to express his gratitude by making medicine for her. Turns out, it managed to work…

"I managed to remember everything about my past after you saved Lute Village from the Spear Hero and the princess. Everything… that I had before was coming back to me. It was like… a nightmare again. Remembering everything from the Wave, the soldiers, the torture, and Rifana-chan's death, had all entered my mind as a plague. I… forgot my friend's existence, I forgot the words that my parents told me before they died, I forgot the promise that I made for my village, and I forgot where I came from." She finally started to cry after telling him this. Raphtalia struggled to herself maintained by never crying, but after forgetting about everything about her past, why wouldn't she cry? All she had was her name and that was it. She could've asked more about her past to the soldiers, but they would only glare at her, causing her to stay away from them. Motoyasu wouldn't know because she didn't know a thing about her past…

"Naofumi… can you tell me that if would forget everything… would you take that chance? From pain to sadness, would you forget everything so those memories could go away? Or…" Raphtalia looked at him with a smile again, this time, tears started to leak out. "Would you choose to keep them? Feeling the pain even though there's nothing attacking you, would you choose to keep them?"

"..."

"Because… I felt everything the moment I got my memories back. Everything hurts, Naofumi. They lied to me, Naofumi. They told me lies and lies, making them think that they were good when they actually wasn't. The people here used me, enslaved me, lied to me… because I am a Demi-Human, Naofumi. So… tell me, Naofumi… why should I protect them?! Why should waste my time protecting the people that tried to make my life into a mess?!" Again, Naofumi couldn't speak, but this time, it was only for a few seconds.

"...You don't have to. At least… not anymore. It wasn't your job to protect the people from the Waves, it's ours… the Heroes. You can walk away from this, go somewhere where Humans don't hate the Demi-Humans, find a place to live at, find love and have a child, and then… die knowing that your life had some meaning to the ones that had cared for you. Coming with me will only make you different. Judging by what you told me, you never had hatred in your life. This… hatred is starting to fuel you and turn you into someone you're not. So… you can walk away from this and find a life that's more suited for you. I'm only fighting the Waves so I can go back home…" Raphtalia's eyes widened after he said that…

"You're... fighting to go back home? You're not… fighting to save everyone?" Her question had made him grit his teeth a little.

"...Don't worry about that. While I don't like saving people's lives for being weak and unprotected, something about leaving them to die while I could do something doesn't settle right in me. It's ironic, isn't it? Judging me because I'm the Shield Hero, the weakest of the Heroes, are saving the ones who call him weak."Why should I waste my time protecting the people that tried to make my life into a mess"? For me… I can't even answer that question without remembering why I hate these people.

"Then… what should I do, then? I… don't have a place to go to and I don't have any money. I… I'll eventually be found and become enslaved again, won't I? If I come with you, I don't have a reason to fight…" With tears still leaking, her raccoon ears had deflated on her head. Looking at her bed, she clenched the bedsheets. Raphtalia was left without a path to follow, she doesn't have any sort of direction other than to go forward. But that path forward… might end up being into nothingness.

"...The money that I just made from saving those people's lives and selling food are yours to have. It might not be too much, but it's enough to at least leave Melromarc and never look back. If you want to come with me… then I guess… you should fight for the Demi-Humans…" Saying that had managed to grab Raphtalia's attention.

"For… the Demi-Humans? And… you're giving me all that you've worked for… to me?"

"...Yes, that's what I think, anyway. You said that you felt like you failed your parents and village because they were killed, right? Well, that was because you didn't have a sword or shield by your side to protect you. This is your chance that you can make everyone that you promised, proud. You have a sword by your side, so you can at least a path forward to save the Demi-Humans. We don't know if what you had experienced will happen again, so it would just be better if you would just fight for the sake of not allowing what has come to you, to others. Well, it's an idea, but you don't have to take it. You could always still walk away from all this. You're free now, Raphtalia. You're not my slave and no one else's. If you want to have that free life, then go do it. I'll give you until this morning to think of something…" Naofumi stood up from his seat and walked to the closest bed near him.

"...Why? Why are you giving me these chances? I… thought you hated me along with other people? So why-"

"Get some rest, Raphtalia. That's enough talking for the night. We'll speak in the morning…" After saying that, the door to the room they were currently in was opened, revealing a cheerful Filo who was wearing a pink dress.

"Master~! I wanna sleep with Raphtalia~!" Running after opening the door, Filo jumped onto Raphtalia's bed. Without warning, Filo hugged her arms around Raphtalia.

"F-Filo!"

"All right, you two, I'm about to turn off the lights so keep quiet." Without saying anything else, Naofumi turned off the lights as it was finally time to turn in…

* * *

'_I can't sleep…' _As Naofumi couldn't find a way to sleep, he could only stare at the wall that was he faced while sleeping. '_Other than Raphtalia, why did the soldiers decide on destroying Raphtalia's village? Was it to make her suffer even more? Or was it… a cover-up so everyone in the kingdom knows that the soldiers 'fought hard' for that village? That makes more sense if we're talking about this damn land…' _

"Please… stop…"

'_Was that… Raphtalia? Is she experiencing a nightmare?'_ Hearing Raphtalia's silent voice, Naofumi got up from his bed to see how she's doing.

"Stop it… don't hurt her… please…" Raphtalia was squirming in her sleep as she was having a nightmare. Filo was still hugging her, but she wasn't about to fall off of Raphtalia.

'_... A nightmare, huh?' _Naofumi knew that because she's a woman, she couldn't be trusted. For all he knew, he was being lied to because she was a woman. However, Naofumi didn't think once that she could be lying to him. The feelings she expressed to him were nothing but real. Plus, he knew Demi-Humans were treated as slaves. The way they were treated poorly by not doing as they're told by their owners… this was all in the town… and it was allowed. Naofumi would be gritting his teeth and silently thinks to himself of how much he hated this world…

...But he decided to take Raphtalia's hand…

"It's okay, you're not alone anymore. You have…" Naofumi looked to Filo who was probably having a funny dream based on the smile she had while sleeping. "You have us, right now. Nothing's going to harm you…" Saying that had managed to calm down Raphtalia. Stopping her squirming, she started to sleep quietly. Naofumi hated women, it wasn't something that hard to find out. But will that stop him from trying to comfort someone that's been in that much pain because of the people of this kingdom?

No, it won't.

* * *

"Master, where's Raphtalia?!" As Filo was in her Filolial form, she hadn't seen Raphtalia anywhere. Because of that, she was starting to feel a bit more concerned as to where she was.

"She's not coming with us anymore, Filo. She's decided to walk her own path…" As Naofumi was almost done preparing what he needed for the next trip, he told Filo that she wasn't coming with them. By the time Naofumi woke up, Raphtalia was already gone. Hearing that had made Filo start to stomp on the floor for her gigantic bird feet.

"Why?! You didn't say anything rude to her, right, Master?!" Hearing the accusation, Naofumi stopped what he was doing and came out of the carriage to look at Filo.

"Wait, that's weird, weren't there a bit more food supplies to trade in than this? And what are you talking about?! I had nothing to do with her departure!"

"But you always say rude things to her, Master~! Stop being mean to her, next time, Master!" As Filo expected to meet Raphtalia another time, but Naofumi knew that they won't be seeing her forever now. She would be living her life as her own person now…

"W-wait!" Hearing a familiar voice, Filo and Naofumi looked to see Raphtalia holding a bag of coins with a smile. Naofumi's eyes could only widen at her sudden appearance.

"Raphtalia~! You're back~!" Filo was easily happy that Raphtalia had returned from where she came from. However, Naofumi could only wonder why she's still here.

"What are you… still doing here?" Naofumi asked, surprised to see that she was still here and not leaving Melromarc. To that, she only smiled at him.

"Sorry that I used some of our food to give to some of these people, but look, I managed to get some silver coins, right?" Showing him the bag, Naofumi could only be confused.

"...Thanks but-"

"Because… I wanted to create my own path, Lord Naofumi. I… didn't want to run away and hide while there are people out there that could eventually end up like how was. Demi-Humans need to be saved, Lord Naofumi. And I can't just sit there and wait for something good to happen to the Demi-Humans. And… it might not be Demi-Humans, but there might be some good people out there in the world that might suffer from the Waves just like me. The pain of dealing with sorrow, isn't what any child should have! So… I choose to come with you Lord Naofumi. Whether if it's for the people or getting you back home, I'll stand by your side and fight along with you. You were right last night, Lord Naofumi. I'm free, and I should make my own decisions… and my decision is to stay with you, the Legendary Shield Hero. Or other words… Naofumi, the kind-hearted, yet, hated Shield Hero." Naofumi's eyes could only widen as he heard those words come from her mouth. However…

"...Well, I guess you're mind, then. Come on, we have somewhere to get to, right?" Dropping his surprised look, Naofumi entered the carriage. He hadn't known Raphtalia for too long, but he could at least keep her around for a while. If she was willing to help him with the Waves, then what was the point of just leaving her there?

"Right!" Hopping onto the carriage, she went to the back of it, while Naofumi took the reins that was wrapped around Filo…

'_What a stupid name… seriously…' _Naofumi thought to himself as he allowed Filo to take the carriage to their next location. The sun was coming up, and they had no time to waste…

Unknown to Raphtalia, Naofumi could only stare at the rising sun with a smile…

'_But… it has a weird ring to it….' _


	7. Chapter 7

"What an odd-looking temple! Don't you think so, Raphtalia?"

"Yes, Filo. Something about this temple feels a bit off to me…" Before meeting Raphtalia, Naofumi had talked to the accessory merchant. He gave him information on a man that knows about gemstones. Not only that, but he had a friend of his tell Naofumi information as to what the other Heroes were doing. He was reluctant on hearing them, but Naofumi chose to listen. After locating the man that the accessory merchant had told him to find before they left, the man told the crew that what they were looking for, which was the magic gemstone, was in an abandoned temple.

"Raphtalia, do you think they have creatures like ghosts in there? I wanna meet a ghost! Do you want to, Raphtalia?!" As they closed in on the temple, Filo, in her Filolial form, stopped the carriage.

"Well, I don't think I've ever heard of creatures like ghosts appearing in dungeons, Filo. But… if we were to meet one, then I don't think we'll be able to fight it…" Raphtalia smiles as she continues to speak with Filo.

"Huh? What do you mean that we won't be able to fight it? You mean my magic won't work on it?! But all my enemies go down with my magic or a kick!" Filo was confused as to why she won't be able to fight the monsters called ghosts.

"Well, Filo, ghosts are supposed to be transparent monsters. If we were able to see them, we couldn't fight them because we would just right through them. We wouldn't be able to see them either because they're entities that are way passed our comprehension… at least that's what I read before in the kingdom…" Remembering her time back at the kingdom, Raphtalia was curious as to what books she could read. Other than the stories of Heroes, she was a bit curious about monsters as well.

"Woah! You know a lot of things about ghosts, Raphtalia! You might be a monster genius one day!" Raphtalia blushed nervously as she heard Filo praise her.

"W-well, I wouldn't call myself a monster genius but…" Raphtalia could only smile nervously as she continued to talk to Filo. Naofumi and the magic shop lady that they picked up watched them interact with one another…

"My, aren't those two getting along well? Where did you find that woman, Shield Hero? I'm sure I haven't seen her with you before." The magic shop lady was only curious as to how Naofumi met Raphtalia.

"Well, it shouldn't matter to you. We just… met one day and she decided to join my party. She's nothing too serious, so don't worry about her." As they stopped, Naofumi and the lady got out from the back of the carriage and walked to the front of the temple while they waited for Raphtalia and Filo.

"Well, if they make you happy, then I guess I shouldn't too much into it, right? Those two have a genuine and kind aura, Shield Hero. Someday, I'm sure I'll be able to feel that same around from you, as well…" Naofumi turned to the lady with a raised eyebrow.

"Hold on, did you say that I smiled? What are you talking about, lady?"

"How couldn't you notice? On our way here, you kept smiling at the two. Is there some sort of reason why?" The magic shop said that in a teasing-like manner, which made Naofumi look at the two with an odd look.

'_Smiling, huh? When the hell was I doing that?' _As he continued to watch Raphtalia and Filo talk with one another, he noticed them smile and laugh with one another. When looking at the two of them, he felt a part of lip beginning to twitch a little. "No, I still don't know what you're talking about. It doesn't matter, anyway…" Crossing his arms, he still continued to watch them interact with one another.

"Shield Hero… the smallest interactions is what changes an individual. You might not notice it, but you seem to be a bit less grumpy than usual. Well, that's what I think. You don't have to listen to this old lady's words anymore, Shield Hero." Naofumi could only listen to her listen to her as he continued to watch Raphtalia and Filo talk to each other.

'_A Demi-Human, a Filolilial, and the Shield Hero… an odd party that I created, huh?' _Looking at Raphtalia as she smiles at Filo, he could only think about the conversation they had last night. '_Demi-Humans, huh? Will they be worth saving? Or would they treat me as the same as Humans? Look at me, trying to differentiate myself from Humans and Demi-Humans… what an odd life I have.' _After looking at Raphtalia, he turned to Filo. '_She… looks happy with her around. It's… about time she started to talk to someone besides me, I guess…'_

"Lord Naofumi! We're ready!"

"Yes, Master, we're ready to go~!" They started to approach him with smiles on their faces…

'_...A Demi-Human, who knew nothing but pain in her entire life, and a Filolial, a being who doesn't know that much of the corruption of the world besides being born in it…' _Looking to his left, he spotted a torch that was unlit. Naofumi already guessed that this was left here from the last group of people who decided on coming here…

'_They deserve their smiles… they deserve the happiness they feel…' _

* * *

Raphtalia could only stare at the empty box that was in the middle of the tunnel they had entered. For whatever reason, whatever that was in the box was already gone. Meaning that SOMEONE had came here first to take what was inside of it. "Lord Naofumi, what do you think was inside of it?" Raphtalia asked, wondering what could've been inside the box.

"Don't know. All it basically said that whatever was in the box was a mistake that someone created that shouldn't be let out. Well, whoever came here didn't care to read what was written on the sign here…" Naofumi crossed his arms as he was a bit disappointed.

"Master, Raphtalia, there's a path this way!" As Raphtalia turned around, she saw Filo pointed to her left. Looking to her right, Raphtalia could see that there was indeed a path that continued into the tunnel.

"Let's go, then." As everyone began to walk towards the path, Raphtalia and Naofumi noticed that Filo wasn't with them after saying where the path was. Turning around, Raphtalia looked behind her to see Filo just standing there and looking at nothing. In Raphtalia's eyes, it was as if there was _something _there.

"Filo? Are you coming with?"

"Filo! Don't make us wait for you!" Hearing Naofumi's demanding voice, Filo hurried back to the group. She looks to be shaken a bit, so Raphtalia thought it was a good idea to ask her what was going on. Filo continued to look behind her as if there was actually something following her.

"Filo? Is there something wrong?" Whatever was bothering her, Filo wasn't looking too happy with what she was seeing or feeling. '_There… couldn't be ghosts here, right' _Raphtalia thought, as she was waiting for Filo to respond.

"Raphtalia… you didn't hear that?" Finding what she said to be confusing, Raphtalia only tilted her head.

"What do you mean? I didn't hear anything." If Raphtalia heard something, she was sure she was going to pick it up with her enhanced hearing. However, Filolials have enhanced hearing too. '_Did she… hear something that I couldn't hear? What was it that she heard to begin with? Now that I think about it, how come we haven't encountered any monsters yet' _Raphtalia could only find something odd about this place. They haven't encountered any monsters and it's been too quiet lately…

Almost _too _quiet…

"It's like… Master was talking to me. And… he said something mean to me..." Filo's voice was sad as she answered. Overhearing the two talk, Naofumi looked back at Filo.

"What are you talking about, Filo? I haven't said anything else other than to hurry up and join us." Naofumi found it strange that Filo was suddenly talking like that. Naofumi knew he was rude at times, but he would only be rude to her only when she decided on doing something that would show herself being lazy.

"Master… you won't sell me, right?" Naofumi stopped in his tracks when she said that. Giving her his full attention, Naofumi turned his body to look at her saddened face. Noticing this, Raphtalia comforted Filo by putting her hand on her feathers.

"Filo, I'm sure Lord Naofumi wouldn't say anything like that. Now, what you saying earlier? You said that you heard-" All of a sudden, everything had turned purple around Raphtalia.

"Lord Naofumi, are you-"

"_Why are you still talking to me, woman? Why are you even travelling with me to begin with? I should've left you behind so you could suffer in the cage you should be in… because your a woman." _

"Huh? Lord Naofumi?" Her hearing was a bit distorted, but Raphtalia was sure she heard Naofumi speaking ill about her. Hearing her call his name, Naofumi looked back at her with a conflicted face. '_Why is he looking at me like that? And… why was he saying those words to me? I thought he-' _

"Do not be fooled, everyone! This magic being done here are by the monsters! They are only toying with your mind by saying the last thing you want to hear with the last voices you wanted to hear it from!" Her voice was under the influence of the magic, but Raphtalia could still hear her loud and clear.

'_Magic? Saying things that I want to hear? Then… what Lord Naofumi said wasn't true? No, of course it wasn't true? He… allowed me into his party without second-guessing! He even wanted me to go live a free life! He… wouldn't say such fake words to me!' _

*Flap* Hearing the sound of what sounded like a flap, Raphtalia heard something was heading their way. Based on how many times she was hearing it, Raphtalia knew that whatever was coming at them was coming towards quickly! "Lord Naofumi!" Without having the time to pull out her sword, Raphtalia only one option in order to save Naofumi…

Without hesitating, Raphtalia rushed towards Naofumi with the intention of knocking him out of the way, only for them to fall onto the ground together. Before they fell, Raphtalia heard a loud clang that came from Naofumi's shield...

"As source of thy power, I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and restore our sight! Fast Anti-Bind!" Using her wand, the lady used her magic spell to reveal bats that were flying in front of them.

"I'm going to blow you away for putting those fake words into my head!" Without hesitating, Filo created a mini tornado towards the bats by flapping her wings. This caused all of the bats that they had in front of them to die instantly. Seeing that they were done, Naofumi could only sigh of relief before looking at Raphtalia who was currently on top of him.

"You… Raphtalia that was a stupid move! You could've gotten hurt if I hadn't moved my shield at the last second! What were you thinking?!" As Naofumi started to get angry at Raphtalia for making a bold move like that, Raphtalia could look at him with a smile sadly. Naofumi was right. If he didn't move his shield at the last second to block the upcoming attack, Raphtalia could've gotten hurt.

"Sorry, Lord Naofumi. I just… wanted to make sure you couldn't get hurt…" Raphtalia knew it wasn't a smart move on her part. '_That was stupid! He's… he's the Shield Hero, so of course he wouldn't have taken damage from an attack like that! But… there shouldn't be anything wrong wanting to save him, right?' _As Raphtalia was silently thinking to herself, Naofumi could only look at her with widened eyes.

"Idiot! I'm the Shield Hero, so of course I wouldn't taken any damage! My defense is higher than yours, Raphtalia, so make sure you don't do anything like that again!" Raphtalia could still only smile sadly at him.

"Yes, Lord Naofumi… if that is what you want." Getting off of him, she stood up and extended out her hand for him to take. Taking the kind gesture, Raphtalia pulled him back up to his feet. '_He's surprisingly light…' _Raphtalia thought.

"Well, as long as you understand, then it's fine. You shouldn't be putting your life out like that anyway." Naofumi turned forward and away from Raphtalia. "Especially… not for someone like me…" The last part was a mutter, but Raphtalia with her enhanced hearing was still able to hear him.

"Lord Naofumi…" Raphtalia wanted to ask him why he said that, but she could only watch him kneel down to absorb the remains of one of the bats that Filo just killed. It didn't matter how kind Naofumi was, someone like him shouldn't be saying something as dark as that.

"Let's go… enough wasting time!" After absorbing the remains of the bat, Naofumi stood back up and lit up the fire again. After that, he began to walk towards the end of the tunnel. "And… Raphtalia…" Before he took another step, he turned to Raphtalia.

"Yes, Lord Naofumi?" Raphtalia was a bit nervous when she heard him call her name. '_Is he going to tell me why he said that? Why am I… feeling so nervous?' _Raphtalia didn't know why she was feeling nervous. For whatever reason, Raphtalia was a bit afraid of the reason why Naofumi would just said that out of the blue. She knew that he was… not happy with things in his life, right now, but he shouldn't be saying something like that as if his life had no meaning.

"I… nothing, it's nothing. Let's hurry and go." Without saying anything more than that, Naofumi turned forwards again and started to walk.

"Don't worry, dear, he's just worried about you. Don't think too much of it, okay?" After the lady told her that, she smiled and started to follow Naofumi.

"Raphtalia… is something wrong?" Filo asked, noticing that something was on Raphtalia's mind.

"Nothing, Filo. It's nothing…" She didn't want to hide something like this from Filo, but she decided not to tell her. She would perhaps tell her at another time…

"Are you sure? We can talk like friends, Raphtalia." Hearing the word 'friends' made Raphtalia smile. She lost her friends after the first Wave had hit… but was it rude to find more friends other than them?

"Thanks, Filo. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Yes! Let's go, Raphtalia!" As Filo started to catch up with Naofumi, Raphtalia could only think to herself: '_if those monsters were able to imitate our voices and say that the last thing we wanted to hear… then what did Lord Naofumi hear? Should I… talk to him? But… would that be pushing it?' _Raphtalia wanted to talk with him to see what bothered him, but probably for another time… when they weren't stuck in a creepy tunnel.

* * *

"That's a Nue. It might be small in size, but it is still dangerous." The magic lady told the group what the lion-like monster was, that was just sleeping in the blue crystalized room they were in. The snake in its backside only started to hiss at them as it noticed that they were intruders.

"Witch, anything else you know about that might be useful in killing it?" Naofumi asked the lady.

"Well, Nue's always had-"

"This will be easy! Raphtalia, let's go!" Without listening to the lady's advice on how they could take it down easily, Filo charged in.

"What?! Filo, don't just go in there blindly!" Raphtalia tried to warn Filo to not go in, but without listening to her, she headed straight towards the Nue. Raphtalia, who was worried about Filo, charged in right with her so she won't fight alone.

"Wait, you two! Damn it! Witch, cover us!" Going in without any plans to stop it, Naofumi charged in without forming a plan. Hearing him, the lady nodded her head.

"Eat this!" Filo, who jumped into the air, was going to kick the Nue in the head, only for the Nue to wake up and jump out of the way. After seeing it land, Raphtalia tried to attack its backside.

"Haaa!" With her sword raised up, Raphtalia was going to swing at the snake on its backside, only for it to instinctively jump out of the way without looking at Raphtalia.

'_It's fast! This fight might not be easy…' _As the Nue noticed Naofumi, it went to attack him, only for Naofumi to raise his shield and block the attack completely. As the Nue's mouth began to let out electricity, Naofumi was having trouble holding it off. '_Electricity? Damn, I won't have enough time to get out of the way!' _As the electricity was starting to surround its body, Naofumi could only grit his teeth.

And all of a sudden, Naofumi was shoved out of the way by an unknown force.

"What the hell?!" Naofumi didn't know what pushed him, but he could say that he was grateful for it because the Nue yelled out, causing his surroundings to be electrified.

"Lord Naofumi, are you all right?" Hearing Raphtalia's voice but not seeing her, he looked around everywhere to see where she was at.

"Raphtalia?! What the-where are you?!" Upon asking that, Raphtalia revealed herself to be behind him after coming out of her hiding. '_What the? She can disappear and reappear like that?! What kind of magic spell is that?!' _

"Sorry, Lord Naofumi, I can explain this later. I'll be right back…" Disappearing again, Raphtalia back to hiding so she could find the right time to attack the Nue.

'_Okay, I didn't expect her to have the ability to do that. Wait…' _As Naofumi noticed footsteps that were circling around the Nue, the Nue reacted to the sound of her footsteps, causing Naofumi to react instantly. "Raphtalia! Move out of the way!" Instantly ducking from the snake's attack, Raphtalia came out of her cloaking and jumped away from the Nue.

"Master, I think the monster doesn't just react to what it sees, it also reacts to what it hears. It's extremely sensitive to sound based on how it reacted to Raphtalia..." Standing next to him, Filo was serious as she noticed a strength the Nue had over Raphtalia.

'_Enhanced hearing, huh? So, if a monster who has enhanced hearing would hear something loud, then…'_ Having an idea, Naofumi changed his shield to the Voice Gengar Shield. "Filo! Yell into this as loud as you can!" Moving his megaphone-like shield to Filo, Naofumi was ready to try out his idea. "Everyone, cover your ears!" Hearing his warning, the other two covered their ears.

"HAAAAAAA!" Yelling into the megaphone, it emitted soundwaves that headed straight towards the Nue. Because of how loud Filo's scream was, the Nue's ears started to bleed out. Seeing as how this managed to work, the lady was ready to use a magic spell.

"Zweit Fire Blast!" Casting her blue and red fire spell, the Nue started to scream in agony as it was engulfed in flames. Seeing an opportunity to attack it, Raphtalia charged at the Nue with her sword extended out, ready to stab right through it.

"Haaa!" Stabbing right through the Nue's chest, the Nue screamed in agony again.

"God job, Raphtalia!" Congratulating Raphtalia, Filo jumped to the sky and performed a dive kick straight towards the Nue's head. Upon making contact, Filo was able to crack its skull, killing it instantly. "We did it, Raphtalia!" Landing next to Raphtalia, Filo was happy that they had won.

"Yes, Filo. Good work." Petting Filo's fur, Raphtalia smiled at Filo for the good work that she's done.

"Oi, Raphtalia, are you okay? That snake almost managed to get a shot on you." Naofumi walked towards Raphtalia to see if she had any scratches or injuries on her body.

"Huh? Y-yeah, I'm okay…" As she waved her right hand, Raphtalia moved her left arm behind her back… almost as if she was hiding something. Realizing something very important, Naofumi stopped in his tracks. His arm started to shake as if he was trying to restrain himself from doing something.

'_...Tch.'_ Naofumi noticed the arm that she was trying to hide and walked towards her again. "Your arm… let me see it…" Naofumi spoke in a demanding voice, but he overall sounded a bit concerned.

"Huh? Lord Naofumi, I told you that I'm-" Naofumi silenced her by taking another step towards her, stopping in front of her face. "Lord Naofumi… is something wrong?" Raphtalia could only be a bit afraid because of the way Naofumi was looking at her…

A glare and gritted teeth…

"Let. Me. See. It." As he demanded to see her arm again, Raphtalia slowly showed Naofumi her left arm, which had a slight graze on her arm. It wasn't serious, but it was still bleeding. Naofumi extended his arm out a bit, but was about to retract his arm. Raphtalia was about to pull her arm away as she noticed the hesitation he had.

"_I felt everything the moment I got my memories back. Everything hurts, Lord Naofumi…"_

'_Tch…' _Hearing her words play out in his head, Naofumi grabbed her arm and pulled out a roll of bandages. Starting to wrap the spot that was bleeding on Raphtalia's arm, Naofumi could only calm himself down. "...Don't be reckless anymore. If you two managed to have anything severe, it will be on me. I'm the Shield Hero, so I'm supposed to be the one who's supposed to make sure my team is safe…" Raphtalia could only look at him with widened eyes, before showing a small smile.

"...I know you're the Shield Hero, Lord Naofumi. Those in your party are meant to be protected as you battle against any foe. But… even if you're the Shield Hero… who will be there to protect you?" Naofumi stopped what he was doing and looked into Raphtalia's eyes.

"What?" Naofumi looked confused after he said that.

"Lord Naofumi, who will protect you as you protect us? Who will be there for you, ready to risk their lives for you, as you would do for us?" Naofumi's eyes widened after she said that. Ever since the moment he walked his journey, he was fated to protect everyone from the Waves. However, not once, did he expect someone to be there to protect him from any foe. He understood what she meant by that, but chose to hide away his shocked expression.

"...Don't say anything stupid like that again. Who will be there for me? It shouldn't matter to you. All you need to worry about is to worry about your own life. If we encounter a strong enemy and I can't protect you, then you run away." After wrapping her injury in the bandage, Naofumi turned away from Raphtalia.

"I will not." Raphtalia said in a voice of determination. Hearing her say that made Naofumi turn a bit towards her again.

"'You will not'? And why not, exactly?"

"Because I chose to stay with you, Lord Naofumi. Whether I die there with you, I will never away from your side. It doesn't matter if we encounter an enemy that's too strong, because… we will be stronger than any of them. If you can't protect us, then we'll protect you, Lord Naofumi. From anyone and anything, Filo and I will be there to continue to walk your journey with you."

"..." Naofumi was silent as he heard her say that. Something about what she said had managed to make Naofumi twitch a bit. If it was his arm, his fingers, his head, or his leg, they twitched. "...Idiot. All right, we got what we came here for, so let's go!" As he started to walk away, Raphtalia forgot to say something in return.

"Lord Naofumi, thank you… for worrying about me." Hearing her, Naofumi turned to her again.

"…Let's get going." With that, he took a piece of a nearby crystal and absorbed it into his shield. After that, he took the gemstone that he needed for Filo's dress and began to walk out the blue crystalized room with the lady they brought with them.

"Raphtalia, don't you want him to thank you for saving him twice?" Filo kept count that this was the second time that Raphtalia had saved Naofumi's life, regardless if his defense was stronger than hers. Looking up at Filo, she could only smile as she started to pet her head.

"Don't worry about it, Filo. If he didn't want to say or do anything for a "thank you", he wouldn't have given me these bandages. After all… he's Naofumi, the kind-hearted, yet, hated Shield Hero." Raphtalia smiled as she watched Naofumi start to back to where they came from.

"Are you sure? You can at least ask him to say it, though…" As Raphtalia continued to watch Naofumi, for only a second, Naofumi looked back at her, only for him to turn back forward.

"Yes, Filo… I'm sure." And Raphtalia was grateful that she was starting to understand Naofumi, the Shield Hero more…

* * *

"How do you two like it?! I stayed up all night working on this design for Filo!" As Naofumi, along with Raphtalia, took Filo to the dressmaker to get her new clothing that would withstand her own transformation after making her own magic thread.

"How do I look, Master?!" Smiling at Naofumi, she wanted to know how Naofumi thinks of her new dress that was created by the dressmaker. A white dress with blue frills at the tip of the end of dress, and at the end of her sleeves. And she even put on a blue ribbon on Filo at the top of her dress as well!

"Yeah, it looks good." Strangely enough, as Naofumi looked at Filo's new clothes, Naofumi smiled. Seeing this, Filo jumped on Naofumi and wrapped her arms around his neck as she began to kick the air.

'_Even he can smile at times at this…' _Raphtalia could only smile as she watched Naofumi smile at Filo. She would like to say something about this, but she chose to leave him alone. For, if she tells him that she noticed his smile, he would immediately drop it. Raphtalia didn't want to ruin it, so she chose to continue staring at him. '_He really is kind…' _

"Filo, you'll be sure to pay off amount of silvers that I paid off for you crest and magic outfit, right?" Even while smiling, Naofumi was a bit strict when it comes to using his valuable money.

'_Well… he shows his kindness in his own way, I guess…' _Raphtalia smiled nervously as she watched Filo be happy with her new dress.

"Oh? I didn't think you'd stick around with the Shield Hero. What's this? Have you decided on being Filo's mother while he's the father?!" Hearing the dressmaker say that made Raphtalia start to blush a little. Out of embarrassment, that is…

"W-what are you s-saying?! I'm here because I joined his party! I'm nothing like what you're saying!"

"Raphtalia can be my mother?!" Overhearing the two, Filo joined the conversation.

"What? What are you talking about, Filo? She's… she's only…" Naofumi was having a hard time figuring out what Raphtalia was to him. Because of his hatred for women, he hadn't thought of something as for what to call Raphtalia. A companion? His comrade? If it wasn't for the princess… then Naofumi wouldn't have to hesitate like this…

"I'm… his friend. That's… what I think, though. But… if he thinks otherwise… then I'll be whatever he thinks I am to him. It won't change the fact that I'm going to continue walking with him… it won't." Smiling, she directed it at Naofumi, who looked a bit troubled.

"I… yeah…"

"Oh? Is that so? Well, friends can always eventually being in a relationship with-"

"Okay, you can stop now, I get it…" Raphtalia quickly wanted to quiet the dressmaker so she won't continue her rambling. '_Friends… I'm friends with the Legendary Shield Hero, Naofumi. But… would he think the same way as well? Or… does he think of something low of me? But… it doesn't matter. For all that he's been through, he deserves to call me anything he wants. Someone like him… shouldn't be looking so troubled as if he never had friends before… did he have friends before? Before… coming to this world, did Lord Naofumi have friends?' _As Raphtalia noticed that Naofumi was looking at the floor with his arms crossed with a troubled look.

'_Maybe… I could be the first for him then…' _


End file.
